Angry over the alleged kidnapping and rape of a minor Dalit girl by a Muslim youth, a mob attacked the house where the accused was hiding and thrashed him. The incident took place in Phoolpur police station area of Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district on Monday. The mob ransacked the house and beat up the accused leaving him critically injured before the police arrived at the spot and rescued him. The mob even clashed with the police, but officials later managed to pacify the protesters. The police said the mob could have lynched the accused had the cops not taken him into custody. The police added that the situation was brought under control and normalcy restored. [related-post] According to the police, the news of the incident spread on Monday morning in Bhatpurva village. It was alleged that one Jainuddin, a resident of Didarganj area, had kidnapped the 10-year-old girl, daughter of a labourer living in a shanty in Dalit Basti, and took her to the government tubewell in the village, where he raped her on Sunday night. “The mob reached the house of his acquaintance, where the accused was allegedly hiding. They caught hold of the accused and began beating him up while others ransacked the house. The police reached the spot and managed to take the accused in custody. Had we been late in reaching there, the mob could have lynched him,” said SHO Phoolpur police station, Tej Bahadur Singh. With the incident involving two communities, senior police officials also reached the spot and promised a thorough investigation. The mob relented only after assurances from senior police officials. Local police, however, denied reports of stone-pelting at the police.
