The police on Wednesday booked a 72-year-old farm worker under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on charge of raping an eight-year-old girl at a remote village in Tavanampalle Mandal in Chittoor district.
According to police, the accused, identified as Umapathi, was rearing cattle on the outskirts of the village when he spotted the girl returning home from a neighboring hamlet.
He allegedly took the girl to a dilapidated structure and forced himself on her. When the girl shouted for help, the accused fled as some villagers rushed to the spot, the police said.
Acting on a complaint lodged by the parents of the girl, the Tavanampalle police registered a case. A search is on for the accused.
