Girl’s kin deny ‘molestation’ charge against lynched man

4-yr-old’s mother says man did not disrobe the girl but his actions raised questions

Three days after a man was lynched near a park in Pandav Nagar for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl, the family of the child has said the man did not disrobe or molest her.

The police had on Saturday said the man had removed the girl’s clothes. The family’s complaint had also stated that the man, Sanjay alias Golu, had tried to sexually assault her after having taken her to the Jheel Park in Pandav Nagar where a crowd spotted him and beat him up on June 8. He died two days later.

‘Girl still under shock’

On Sunday, a day after his death, the mother said her daughter told them that he had neither disrobed nor molested her. But she added that his actions raised questions.

“My daughter told us that she was not disrobed. Even though he took her away, he did not try to force himself on her. She has not spoken much since the incident as she is still under shock from having witnessed the lynching. Having said that, why would the man take her away in the first place. He had intentions to do something wrong,” said the mother.

Mob unidentified

The girl’s grandmother said that he disappeared with the child in a matter of minutes. “She was playing near the place where I sell vegetables. She said she wanted to buy chowmein from a shop which is just a couple of steps away from there. I gave her ₹5 to buy noodles. It was then that he arrived and took her away,” said the grandmother.

Meanwhile, the police said they have added sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the rape case but are yet to identify any member of the mob. A few people near the park shared the details of the incident, as they had heard from others.

‘Man tied to pole’

It is alleged that the man entered the park with the girl through a broken boundary wall instead of the main entrance and then walked for some time. He then allegedly sat the girl down next to the lake inside the park and removed a cloth he had wrapped around the lower portion of his body.

“It was then that somebody spotted him. They dragged him to an electric pole and started hitting him. They used stones to beat him up even before he could explain himself. The incident took place late in the evening when there were few people present,” said Ravi Kumar, a local.