A 55-year-old man, fearing being lynched by an angry mob, surrendered before the police on Monday night for sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl.

When residents in his neighbourhood realised that he had given himself up, they gathered in front of SJ Park Police station, where he was lodged, on Tuesday afternoon demanding that the police hand him over to them. The police had to resort to mild caning to disperse the mob.

Mohammed Anwar worked as a painter but was recently unemployed. A long-time resident of the area, he was friends with most families in the locality. According to the police, over the last four days, he had started inviting a neighbour’s daughter to his house to teach her religious verses.

However, when the girl returned home on Monday evening, she complained of stomach pain. Her mother took her to Vani Vilas Hospital where the doctors confirmed that she had been sexually abused, the police said.

When neighbours learned of the incident, they started gathering outside Anwar’s house demanding retribution. Anwar fled from the house through the back door and surrendered himself at SJ Park Police Station. “He confessed to having sexually abused the girl. We registered a case under POCSO Act, 2012, and arrested him,” said the police.

Unsatisfied with the police action, residents of the area gathered in front of the police station on Tuesday and even tried to block the busy City Market road disrupting traffic. When they later tried to storm the police station, the police resorted to caning them.

The SJ Park Police have registered an FIR against the protesters and arrested ten people. D. Devaraj, DCP (Central), said the police had to resort to caning as the situation was getting out of hand. The security of the accused was also at risk, he added.