Missing teen returns, alleges rape, then 100 people lynch a man

A teenage girl who had been missing for several weeks was found in a rural area of India and immediately reported that she had been sexually assaulted. Local residents gathered after hearing the allegation, and a crowd of roughly one hundred people seized a man they identified as the suspect. The mob beat the man to death in what officials described as a lynching. Police arrived after the violence had ended and took the victim’s body into custody for forensic examination. The authorities have opened a criminal investigation into both the alleged rape and the extrajudicial killing, and they have detained several participants for questioning. The incident has sparked renewed debate about the prevalence of mob justice in parts of the country, where frustration with slow legal processes sometimes fuels vigilantism. Human‑rights groups have called for swift legal action against those involved in the lynching, while urging the government to strengthen protection for victims of sexual violence. The case remains under active investigation, and officials have warned that any attempts to obstruct the probe will be prosecuted.