A 10-year-old girl was raped in Punjab’s Jalandhar on June 2, following which the 39-year-old accused was lynched by an angry mob.

The Incident

The parents of the girl were away and the girl was alone at home when she was raped. The accused was identified as Pappu Kumar, a resident of Bihar who lived in the same vicinity of the survivor’s family. Reportedly, he was drunk when he raped the girl.

Neighbours heard the girl screaming and rushed to the house to find her lying in a pool of blood. They caught the perpetrator red-handed thrashed him.

“We received information this afternoon that an 11-year-old girl was raped by a man in Rama Mandi area, accused had already been beaten up by a mob before we reached the spot, he later died. The girl is undergoing treatment,” said Harsimrat Singh, ACP Jalandhar (Central).

H Singh, ACP Jalandhar (Central): We received information this afternoon that an 11-year-old girl was raped by a man in Rama Mandi area, accused had already been beaten up by a mob before we reached the spot, he later died. Girl is undergoing treatment. Further probe on. #Punjab pic.twitter.com/F6GrspDUen

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2019

Mob Lynching Is Not The Solution

Mob violence has been on the rise in India for the past few years. From cow vigilantes lynching people to social media rumours prompting hate crimes, mob lynching has become a dark reality in India.

In a similar incident, three minors raped a minor girl in Alwar on May 14, following which the survivor’s family lynched one of the accused.

The past few years have seen several hate crimes, many of which were communal in nature. During the first seven months of 2018, 24 people were killed in mob attacks. There is over 4.5 times rise in mob attacks, and two-fold rise in deaths over 2017, and IndiaSpend analysis revealed.

Between 1 January 2017, and 5 July 2018, at least 99 people were injured and 33 killed in 69 reported cases of mob violence. In the first six days of July 2018, there were nine cases of mob violence over child lifting rumours and five deaths, amounting to more than one attack recorded each day.

While several of these attacks are related to cow smuggling and trading, several others are related to fake messages spreading rumours.

Among scores of other incidents, in February 2015, 7,000 to 8,000 people broke into Nagaland’s Dimapur Central Jail and lynched Syed Farid Khan, who was accused in a rape case.

In March 2016, locals lynched two cattle traders, Mazloom Ansari and Imtiaz Khan, who were later hung from a tree in Jharkhand.

In April 2017, dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was lynched by cow vigilantes on the suspicion smuggling cows.

In July 2018, a fake WhatsApp message led to the killing of a man in Bidar district, on suspicion of being a child-lifter.

Talking about the recent incident, while rapists deserve the harshest of punishments, mob lynching is not an option. Taking the law into one’s own hands and killing another person only gives rise to another horrifying crime. It also reflects on failing law and order situation of the country and failure to curb the rising no. of rape-related crimes. As the system is failing, people are resorting to mob violence. 

Also Read: Rajasthan: Three Minors Allegedly Rape 15-Year-Old Girl; Girl’s Family Lynches One Accused