Retd army captain arrested for attempting to rape minor

A retired army captain has been arrested on charges of attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl at Bakhatgarh village on Saturday evening. The accused has been identified as Gurdev Singh (65), who owned a shop in the same village.

A retired army captain has been arrested on charges of attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl at Bakhatgarh village on Saturday evening.

The accused has been identified as Gurdev Singh (65), who owned a shop in the same village.

Investigation officer Rajesh Kumar said the police registered a case on the statement of victim's mother, who said that her daughter, a Class 5 student, had gone to the Gurdev's shop to buy some biscuits.

The police said when the girl did not return for a long time, her mother went to the shop looking for her and saw Gurdev molesting her daughter.

As the girl's mother raised an alarm, villagers gathered at the spot and thrashed the accused. They also tried to set his shop afire.

The police said the villagers told them that the accused was a habitual offender and had been caught doing similar acts in the past.

As the police took Gurdev in custody, angry villagers even pelted the police vehicle with stones.

"We have arrested the accused, who was sent in a day's police remand," the SP said. The police also took out a flag march in the village late on Saturday night.