On Wednesday evening, the accused had allegedly forcibly taken the minor to his one-room apartment in the Greater Noida locality.
Police have arrested a constable posted with the sales tax department of the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl in Surajpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar district. On Wednesday evening, the accused — who was in an inebriated condition — had allegedly forcibly taken the minor to his one-room apartment in the Greater Noida locality, police said.
Police said the child was playing outside her home while her mother was at work. However, police said the minor started screaming and neighbours gathered near his house.
“The neighbours found the girl crying. When they tried to confront the accused, he fled the spot. The girl then narrated her ordeal to them. However, no complaint was lodged on Wednesday evening,” a police officer said.
Akhilesh Pradhan, Station House Officer of Surajpur police station, said residents caught hold of the accused and beat him up when he returned to the locality on Thursday morning. Soon after, a PCR call was made.
“He was arrested and remanded in jail. We are checking if he has any prior criminal records,” Pradhan said, adding that a case has been registered against the constable under IPC Section 376 (rape) and sections under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Soon after his arrest, a video purportedly showing the constable being beaten up by residents surfaced on social media.
In the video, women of the area can be seen beating him with their slippers. However, a few men are seen trying to control the crowd and requesting the agitated mob not to beat him as he would ‘die’. Police personnel are also seen trying to pacify the crowd.
The child, who studies in a nearby school, was sent for medical examination to a Noida district hospital. Police said the reports are awaited.
While the girl’s father had died a few years ago, her mother works as a labourer in a factory. The family hails from Bihar.