Kolkata, Feb 12 : A man has been arrested by the police at Kultali in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Wednesday on charges of raping a differently-abled minor girl in the locality.

The accused was caught red-handed while committing the crime by the neighbours. The local people after beating up the accused person severally later handed him over to the local police.

The police have started an investigation into the matter. The victim minor has been sent for medical examination.

It is learnt that the incident took place when the victim alone was at her home. While her parents were out for their jobs, the elder sister went to the local branch of a bank.

Taking advantage of the situation, the accused, who was the next-door neighbour of the victim's family, entered the house and committed the crime. Fortunately, as the minor started screaming, another neighbour was alerted.

That neighbour rushed to the house and peeped through the window to find the accused assaulting the victim. Thereafter the neighbour alerted others, who barged into the house and caught the accused red-handed.

The accused was severely beaten up by the local youth and was later handed over to the police. The victim's parents claimed that their daughter used to address the accused as 'uncle'.

'We want the highest punishment. Today he tried such a heinous thing with my sister. Tomorrow he might become a threat to other girls as well,' the victim's elder sister said.

West Bengal had been in the negative headlines for the last few months for several incidents of rape and rape & murder and in many such instances the victims had been minors.

The most talked about case on this count had been the ghastly rape and murder of a woman doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August last year.

/IANS