A 45-year-old man on Wednesday was beaten to death by a group of women after he allegedly attempted to rape a five-year-old girl in Tripura’s Dhalai district, police said.
The incident took place in Gandacherra police station area when the man allegedly lured the minor, who arrived for a religious function with her mother on Tuesday, to a nearby forest and attempted to rape her.
Hearing the girl’s cries, local residents rushed to her rescue and saw the accused had fled the spot, police said.
As a mark of protest, a group of women blocked the Gandacherra-Amarpur highway, demanding the accused be arrested.
According to news agency PTI, a few women spotted the man in a nearby village on Wednesday morning and tied him to a tree. A viral video of the incident showed the women beating the accused mercilessly, following which he lost consciousness.
“The man was admitted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries. We are investigating the matter,” Gandacherra police station office-in-charge P Datta said.
The deceased had completed eight years of rigorous imprisonment in a murder case, PTI reported.
While four persons have been interrogated, no one has been detained so far, police said.