A 72-year-old man was beaten by a mob after he allegedly attempted to rape a 9-year-old girl in the Halishahar area of the port city on this evening.

The arrestee has been identified as Mohammed Hossen, confirmed CMP Deputy Commissioner (West Zone) Alamgir Hossen.

The incident took place near the B-block public school area in Halishahar. On information, police rushed to the scene, rescued the man from the mob and arrested him in connection with the alleged attempted rape, he added.

The child -- a class 3 student, had gone alone to a nearby shop to buy chips around 5:00pm, when the accused allegedly molested and tried to rape her. The girl returned home and revealed the matter to her mother.

The mother immediately took the child back to the spot, where the girl identified the accused. Enraged locals present at the scene caught the accused and gave him a beating, but police reached the spot, apprehended the man, and removed him from the scene.

The victim's mother has since filed a written complaint with Halishahar Police Station.

A video circulated on social media showed hundreds of locals chasing a police van and hurling brickbats at it.