Warangal, June 01: In an act of mob justice, a youth was burnt alive by angry villagers right in the presence of cops after he allegedly raped a girl.
The girl, who initially resisted the attempts of the accused, is battling for her life after the youth hit her with a hammer on her head. This macabre incident took place in Raghunathapally in Zaffargadh mandal of Warangal district on Tuesday.
Seething with rage, hundreds of women and other villagers poured kerosene on the accused, Jilla Babu, and set him on fire in front of the girl’s residence. With more than 60 per cent burns, Babu, 24, died on the spot. When the cops were whisking him away to the police station, the enraged women obstructed the vehicle. Ignoring the cops’ pleas to leave the accused alone, they dragged him out of the vehicle and set him on fire. The deceased was a daily wager in nearby Perumandlagudem village in Wardhannapet mandal. He is survived by wife and three daughters. His wife claimed that he had been mentally unstable for the last couple of months.
Sources said Babu forcibly entered the house of the 18-year-old girl when her farm labourer parents were away to take part in NREGS works on the outskirts of the village. When he tried to act fresh with her, she warned him. It was at this time that he hit her with a hammer that he was carrying for his work.
He brutally hit her several times and then forced himself on her. When the girl raised an alarm, neighbours came to her rescue and caught hold of the accused.
Soon, several villagers gathered and beat him up severely. Police came and tried to control the situation by taking
Babu into custody. But, the angry women refused to let go of him and torched him to death.
Meanwhile, the girl, who completed her Intermediate in Hanamkonda, was taken to MGM Hospital in Warangal in a serious condition. When her condition deteriorated, she was rushed to Nims, Hyderabad.
Sources said she suffered grievous injuries on her forehead and left eye. Women activists and public representatives condemned the heinous act.
–Agencies