A labourer, who was accused of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in a village on Bangalore-Kanakapura Road on Friday, died on Saturday after he was beaten up by enraged local residents.
The Talaghattapura police, who went to the spot on hearing of trouble in the area, said Narayanappa (40) had been trussed up before being badly beaten.
They took him to the Rajarajeshwari Hospital where he died of his injuries later.
News of the sexual assault, which took place on Friday, spread on Saturday morning.
The victim’s family and Narayanappa all lived in sheds in the same area. On Friday, the victim’s father, a construction supervisor, had gone out while his wife fell asleep. When he returned at night, he did not find his daughter at home and grew concerned. He went looking for her late in the night and at last found his child crying. There were marks on her body and her private parts were injured.
When the child was questioned later, she said it was Narayanappa who had assaulted her.
Residents of the village, who learnt about the incident on Saturday morning, went to Narayanappa’s house and allegedly attacked him.
The police said Narayanappa, a native of Kolar, was working at the construction site of a hospital which is coming up in the neighbourhood.
The police have registered a case of murder against the mob. A case of rape has also been registered based on the complaint given by the victim’s father. Meanwhile, a medical report is awaited from the hospital where the child was examined.
