A man accused of attempting to rape a girl in India has been left in a critical condition after locals cut off his genitals as punishment.
The group took the law into their own hands after they found a 40-year old man pinning a young girl to the wall in the north-eastern city of Ganganagar.
After a community meeting, the vigilantes dragged the man into a nearby butchery and used a meat cleaver to cut off his penis. The remains were discarded in the street beside the man, who was suffering from severe blood loss.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One local said: "No one went to help the man because they could see his penis on the ground and knew this was punishment for a sex crime," the Daily Mirror reports.
"We have had a lot of intolerable offences against women in this country recently, with girls being raped, hung, and molested, and it's time it stopped."
She said it would "send out a very strong message" to possible offenders, warning them of the punishment they face.
Police were quick to condemn the attack, warning locals not to take the law into their own hands and calling for those responsible to hand themselves in.
"As deplorable as these crimes are, law and order has to be maintained, and not lynch justice."
The young girl was treated for shock and is receiving counselling, while the man remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Incidents of rape in India have gone up tenfold in the last 40 years, The Guardian reports, with a spate of recent attacks shocking the nation and the world. Last year a 23-year old woman died after being gang raped on a bus in the Indian capital.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
The week’s best photojournalismIn Pictures A steaming volcano, a giant crater and more
-
Texas and Yelp are suing each other over crisis pregnancy centers
Talking Point A battle over free speech and abortion rights heads to court
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
-
Why has violence erupted in Leicester?
Today's Big Question Recent unrest between sections of Muslim and Hindu communities finally boiled over
-
What we know about the Copenhagen mall shooting
Speed Read Lone gunman had mental health issues and not thought to have terror motive, police say
-
Texas school shooting: parents turn anger on police
Speed Read Officers had to be urged to enter building where gunman killed 21 people
-
DJ Tim Westwood denies multiple sexual misconduct allegations
Speed Read At least seven women accuse the radio and TV presenter of predatory behaviour dating back three decades
-
What happened to Katie Kenyon?
Speed Read Man charged as police search for missing 33-year-old last seen getting into van
-
Brooklyn subway shooting: exploring New York’s ‘steep decline in law and order’
Speed Read Last week, a gunman set off smoke bombs and opened fire on a rush-hour train in the city
-
How the Capitol attack investigation is splitting the Republicans
Speed Read Vote to censure two Republican representatives has revealed deep divisions within party
-
Is sentencing a Nazi sympathiser to read Shakespeare an appropriate punishment?
Speed Read Judge seemed to think introducing student ‘to high culture’ would ‘magically make him a better person’ said The Daily Telegraph
