Accused in minor girl's rape, murder, thrashed by public

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Coimbatore: A man arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl was thrashed by a section of the public at a government hospital when he was brought there for a medical checkup on Thursday, police said.

Santhosh Kumar faced the fury of a group of people who rained blows on his face and neck as he was being escorted by police to a van after completion of the check-up. Police managed to push him into the van and rushed out of the hospital premises.

The people who attacked Kumar raised slogans that such criminals should not be allowed to go scot-free. He was arrested on March 31 on charges of sexually assaulting and killing the girl of Pannimadai a week earlier.

According to police, Kumar had allegedly confessed to having raped the girl, living close to his grandmother's house in Pannimadai, before strangling her to death.

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