In the Bareilly district village of Uttar Pradesh a 60-year-old man, Sher Mohammad, reportedly committed suicide hours after he was caught raping a five-year-old girl. The incident took place in a village under the Faridpur police station limits.
According to police authorities, the incident occurred when the young victim, playing outside her home, was lured by the accused Sher Mohammad to his residence, where she was raped. Her family became concerned when she didn’t return home and initiated a search, which led them to Mohammad’s house.
The girl’s family was met with a horrifying sight as they discovered Sher Mohammad in the act, forcibly assaulting the child. The accused fled the scene upon being confronted by the victim’s family but was later found dead by apparent suicide, hanging from a tree.
The police had earlier registered a case against Sher Mohammad under sections pertaining to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, based on a complaint filed by the girl’s mother. However, that is null and void now after the suicide. The young survivor was rushed to the district hospital, where doctors confirmed that she had endured a brutal rape. Her condition is currently stable.
“When I reached the house of the accused, I saw him over my daughter who was crying in pain. I raised a cry for help and the accused fled after locals gathered. We then went to the local police station,” the mother said in her complaint.
Authorities conducted a search operation to locate the accused, which culminated in the discovery of Sher Mohammad’s lifeless body. Prima facie evidence suggests that Mohammad, fearing legal repercussions, took his own life by hanging. His body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
Mukesh Chand Mishra, Superintendent of Police (Bareilly Rural), noted, “We lodged an FIR under IPC section 376 (rape), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was also invoked against the accused, but it is now null and void since he died by suicide. The victim has been admitted to a government hospital where her condition is stated to be stable.”
