Man Rapes, Strangles 5-Year-Old Neighbor To Death A Day After Her Birthday

A 22-year-old man in India has been arrested for allegedly raping and strangling his 5-year-old neighbor to death. An autopsy report found injuries on the child's mouth and genitals indicating brutal sexual violence.

The girl just celebrated her birthday a day before the incident, which took place in the Indian state of Haryana. According to her father, he invited all of their neighbors, including the accused, Raj Kumar Mandal, to the party Saturday. During the celebration, the father noticed Mandal trying to touch his daughter inappropriately.

"I warned him, after which he stopped," the father, whose identity was not revealed, said as per the Times of India.

Mandal visited the family's residence at around 10 a.m. Sunday after the girl's father went out to look for a part-time job and her mother stepped out for a while. The accused allegedly lured the girl out by saying he would buy her a snack.

"We searched for hours but couldn't find her until we reached the fields and saw him (Raj) there. He ran away when he saw us," the father told the outlet.

It was then that the couple found their 5-year-old daughter lying on the ground, her clothes stained with blood.

"There were some bite marks on her neck and bruises," the father told Indian Express.

Locals were able to catch and detain the accused. Meanwhile, the girl was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Mandal, a migrant laborer, moved to the neighborhood alongside his mother and sister about eight months prior to the incident. He lived adjacent to the victim's family home. According to the victim's father, he previously told the accused not to come near their house as he would often get drunk.

Based on the autopsy report, the girl's cause of death was "manual compression of the neck."

The accused admitted he was drunk when he committed the crime, Deputy Superintendent of Police Dheeraj Setia said.

Following the attack on the child, an angry mob of around 30 villagers from the neighborhood went to the Bhondsi police station and blocked a road as a form of protest. Some of them also got into a fight with the officers.

"We assured them that action will be taken as per the law, but they asked us to hand over the accused so that they could thrash him," Times of India quoted an officer as saying.

A report was filed against the villagers for "obstructing public servants," "punishment for wrongful restraint" and "unlawful assembly," among others.

As for the accused, he was charged under Sections 302 (murder) and 376(2) (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The victim's family wants capital punishment for him.

"We want justice for our daughter," the victim's father told Times of India. "We want the man to be hanged to death."