Police on Monday night prevented mob lynching of two gang-rape accused in a village of Gumla district, around 150 km from Jharkhand capital Ranchi.

According to police sources, a Class V girl aged 14 was taken by five youths, all residents of the same village to a nearby village field in Haradipa village of Gumla district on Sunday night and gangraped her. She was left with a warning not to reveal anything to the family.

The girl, however, informed her parents. The parents informed the village head who assured justice in the panchayat. The accused youths, including two minors, then reached the girl’s house and threatened the family of dire consequences on Monday evening. The family members called up their relatives and dragged two of the accused and started assaulting them.

“The police were not informed about the gang-rape by the parents and as per tribal traditions they decided to settle the issue in village panchayat. It was only when we came to know about the beating of the youths and we rescued the youths did we know about the incident. We have nabbed all the five youths involved in the gang-rape and sent the girl for medical examination at Gumla sadar hospital. We will lodge cases under the Posco Act against all the accused,” said SP Gumla H.P. Janardhanan.

The five accused in the gang-rape incident include, Amarjit Tirkey (17), Iliyas Minz (23), Subhash Baraik (24), Sumit Toppo (17) and Ritesh Baraik (14). The two who have deep wounds on their legs and hands because of the beating are Amarjit Tirkey and Iliyas Minz who have been admitted in the Gumla Sadar Hospital while the remaining three have been remanded to judicial custody.