Police said the accused sexually assaulted the child while she was playing near her house in her neighbourhood in Kumarapalayam on Sunday. The parents, who came to know of the incident, had lodged a complaint with the Kumarapalayam police.

After inquiries, the police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and arrested the accused on Monday. 

Following his arrest, the family members and relatives descended on the police station in the morning. They sought the police to hand over the accused to them and also resorted to a roadblock protest.

Despite several rounds of talks, the protesters refused to leave the spot. Tension prevailed when they attempted to attack the accused while being taken from the police station.

As the situation was likely to go out of control, the police took the accused back into the police station.

Soon, Namakkal Superintendent of Police S Vimala arrived and persuaded them to drop the protest. After several hours of protest, they withdrew the protest, following which the accused was taken by police to a court in Kumarapalayam.

In another similar incident in Kumarapalayam, the police arrested a 62-year-old man on Monday for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. The accused had lured the girl by offering an ice cream. As the girl informed her parents, who then caught the accused on Monday morning, thrashed him, before handing him over to the police. The accused, who was booked under the Pocso Act, has been admitted to Erode Government Hospital for treatment for injuries sustained in the attack.

Namakkal District Collector L Madhubalan, in a statement, claimed that the two children were admitted to the Kumarapalayam Government Hospital and were in a stable condition.