A rickshaw puller, accused of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Dachepalli village of Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district on Wednesday, allegedly committed suicide on Friday, police said.
Officials said the body of 55-year-old Annam Subbaiah was found hanging from a tree in an agricultural field near Amaralingeshwara Swamy temple between Daida and Telikutla villages.
Earlier in the day, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa and other ministers visited the Government General Hospital in Guntur where the girl is recovering.
They handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh as compensation from the state government to the girl's family.
Later, Rajappa told reporters that effective steps would be taken to prevent such heinous crimes.
Subbaiah, a rickshaw-puller, lured the girl who stayed near his house and sexually assaulted her on Wednesday night.
The incident caused a stir in Dachepalli as irate villagers blocked traffic on the Addanki-Narketpalli highway for several hours and a bandh was observed on
Thursday demanding stern action against the accused.
Director General of Police M Malakondaiah visited the village this morning to take stock of the situation.
The incident comes amid outrage over the Kathua incident in which an eight-year old girl was allegedly held captive, tortured and raped before being killed.
(With PTI inputs)
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