Vijayawada, May 3: In the abominable rape case in which a 9-year-old girl was raped in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district by a 50-year-old man, the police suspect that the accused has committed suicide after a 50-year-old rickshaw puller was seen heading towards Krishna river and reportedly told a man that he wants to end his life, Director General of Police M Malakondaiah said. The victim is undergoing treatment in a government-run hospital in Guntur. Two state ministers P. Pulla Rao and N. Anand Babu visited the hospital and promised all assistance to the girl's family.

The police chief suspect the accused is mentally unsound. Subbaiah had married twice but both the wives had deserted him. The rape in Dachepalli on Wednesday night caused huge outrage as people took to streets, demanding justice to the victim's family.

While the relatives of the girl continued their protest through the night, others joined them on Thursday to block Addanki-Narketpally highway, leading to a huge traffic jam. The protesters demanded that the accused be immediately arrested. Some demanded that he be hanged in public.

Police had a tough time controlling the protesters, who vented their anger by damaging a few buses. The locals also observed a shutdown. Additional forces were called to control the situation.

The police chief said the situation was now fully under control and appealed to people to cooperate in maintaining law and order.

Malakondaiah said the accused had been booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, which was amended last month by the Central government to prescribe capital punishment for the rapists of children younger than 12.

He said 17 special teams were set up to arrest the accused and police would make all efforts to file a chargesheet at the earliest.

Taking a serious note of the incident, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directed district officials to ensure that the guilty is immediately brought to book and punished.

After the outrage over the horrific Kathua Gang Rape Murder case where a 8-year-old girl was raped and killed in Jammu and Kashmir, there was strong demand from people and prominent personalities to strengthen the POCSO Act for discouraging crimes against children. The amendment was made under the POCSO Act making it possible for those who rape children below 12-years-old to be sentenced with capital punishment.  (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 03, 2018 11:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).