Bid to rape 7-yr-old foiled by neighbours

Ludhiana: Police arrested a man on Friday night for trying to rape a seven-year-old girl in a village. The accused (50), is father of two children, including a daughter.
The complainant, the father of the Class III student, said that he was at work in Khanna on Friday when he received a call from his wife asking him to come home immediately.
He said that when he reached his house, he saw neighbours and village residents gathered there. One of the neighbours said that he saw the accused breaking into his house at 3.30pm. The complainant alleged that the accused saw his daughter alone at home and locked the main gate, after which he tried to rape her.
When the child started screaming, the neighbour rushed towards the house while raising an alarm. At this, two other neighbours also rushed towards the house and started to knock the gate down. He said that the accused ran towards the village and his wife also reached home.
Police booked the accused under sections 376, 511 (attempt to rape), 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and SC (Scheduled caste) and ST (Scheduled Tribe) Act.
Police said that the accused, who was arrested was separated from his wife and children and was an alcoholic.