HYDERABAD: Enraged residents of a housing complex in Kulsumpura thrashed a 55-year-old tea vendor to death for allegedly molesting a nine-year-old girl on Thursday evening.The deceased’s wife had deserted him. He lived with his mother in a flat in the complex, which houses around 80 families.Police said the child was sitting on a parked two-wheeler in the society’s parking lot around 3pm when the accused approached her and struck up a conversation.“On the pretext of buying her chocolates, he was touching her inappropriately. A neighbour noticed this and confronted the accused, who quickly left the spot,” Kulsumpura ACP V Tirupathi said.Seeing the child’s distressed condition, the neighbour alerted her family.
Cops to scan CCTV to spot attackers
Residents later checked CCTV footage and concluded that the accused had molested the minor. The accused returned to the complex around 6.30pm, allegedly inebriated.“The minor’s angry family members and other residents thrashed him. Around 7pm, we received a call and a team rushed there,” the ACP said.Cops shifted the accused to Kulsumpura PS, where a 108 ambulance was called. Police registered a Pocso case based on a complaint by the girl’s family.While being shifted to hospital, the accused complained of uneasiness. “We shifted him to Osmania General Hospital. During treatment, he succumbed to internal injuries,” the ACP said.The tea vendor’s mother filed a counter-complaint, alleging that her son died of injuries sustained in the assault. Cops registered a case under BNS Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).“We are waiting for the post-mortem report. CCTV footage at the complex and witness statements will be recorded to identify the attackers,” the ACP added.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
