a 34-year-old railway contract laborer was beaten to death by passengers aboard the Humsafar Express between Lucknow and Kanpur after he allegedly sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl, police reported on Friday. The accused has been identified as Prashant Kumar from Bihar.
According to the police, Kumar boarded the train from Siwan, Bihar, along with the victim’s family. He offered his berth to the girl and sexually assaulted her when her mother was away. Upon learning of the incident, the girl’s family and other passengers caught Kumar and severely beat him on Tuesday night.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) took Kumar into custody at Kanpur Central Station, but his condition deteriorated rapidly. He was rushed to KPM Hospital, where he was declared dead.
The victim’s mother has filed an FIR against Kumar under Section 354 (criminal force to any woman intending to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police said.
An FIR has been registered with GRP Lucknow, and a post-mortem was conducted by a panel of three doctors before the body was handed over to Kumar’s family.
The incident occurred amidst national outrage over the rape and murder of a doctor inside Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Sanjay Roy was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering the doctor, a PG medical student, inside the seminar hall of the hospital on August 9.