A 25-year-old man allegedly molested a minor tribal girl in Padgha taluka of the district, police said on Monday. On the night of December 13, the man, who worked as a security guard at a company in the vicinity, entered the thatched hut where the nine-year-old girl and her other family members were sleeping, an official at Padgha police station said.

The man allegedly touched the girl inappropriately following which she raised an alarm, he said. The accused then fled the house but the neighbours caught hold of him and beat him up, the official said. The accused, yet to be arrested, was undergoing treatment at a hospital for his injuries, he said.

A case was registered against him under IPC sections 354(B) (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with an intent to disrobe) and 452 (house-trespass) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.