Police on Thursday night took into custody a man accused of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in Chattogram city’s Bakalia area, nearly seven hours after hundreds of locals confined him at the scene.

The accused, Monir Hossen, 35, was removed from the spot and taken to a police station around 10:00pm, said Aminur Rashid, assistant commissioner (PR) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police.

He said several police personnel were injured in clashes with locals while trying to bring the situation under control.

“The accused has been rescued from there and brought under police custody,” the police official said.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered and tried to stop police from taking Monir into custody.

Videos surfaced online of police firing shots to bring the situation under control.

Monir works at a local decoration shop, said police.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Solaiman, of Bakalia Police Station, said according to the child’s family, Monir Hossen sexually abused the four-year-old girl after taking her inside a decoration shop near her house. Later, the child narrated the incident to her parents.

Image

Photo: Courtesy

Following the incident, the child’s family held Monir and took him to their house around 3:00pm.

After the news spread in the locality, hundreds gathered in front of the house to beat the accused. On information, police also rushed to the spot, the OC added.

A witness said that as the public became furious and tried to snatch the accused, police opened fire to bring the situation under control at around 6:00pm. Chases and counter chases ensued between police and the mob

However, no officials picked up their phones when contacted for confirmation about shots being fired.