Hours after he allegedly raped a five-year-old girl in a Bareilly village on Thursday afternoon, a 60-year-old man was found dead in what police suspected to be a case of suicide. The girl was admitted to a government hospital where her condition was said to be stable.
The police said that they were carrying out a search to nab the accused when the body was found. “Late on Thursday night, we were informed that the accused’s body was spotted in a remote corner of the village. The victim’s mother identified him as the accused,” the officer incharge of the local police station said.
As per the FIR lodged by the girl’s mother, the girl was playing with her friends outside her house when she went missing. The mother soon learnt that the girl was last seen going with an aged man who lived in their neighbourhood.
“When I reached the house of the accused, I saw him over my daughter, who was crying in pain. I raised an alarm and the accused fled after locals reached the scene. We then reached the local police station,” the mother stated in her complaint. She also claimed that she was asked to shell out money at the police station for the FIR.
SP (Rural), Bareilly, Mukesh Chand Mishra said: “The FIR was registered under IPC Section 376 (rape) and the accused was also booked under POCSO Act. However, since the accused is no more, the FIR becomes null and void. The victim has been admitted to a government hospital where her condition is stable.”
The SP said they also looked into the mother’s allegation that a female police officer sought money to register her complaint and found that some people from outside were involved in it. The body was sent for autopsy while further investigation was on.