The police in Assam’s Lakhimpur are looking for a man who allegedly repeatedly raped his 10-year-old daughter for over four months, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday.

The police described the man as a beggar. They said the crime came to light after some people in his neighbourhood caught him assaulting the child on Saturday and thrashed him.

“But instead of handing him over to the police, they shot a video of the accused being beaten up and uploaded it on social media,” Lakhimpur Superintendent of Police Sudhakar Singh told the daily. Singh said the man started assaulting his daughter after his wife left him in November.

After a local women’s association saw the video, they rescued the girl and her younger brother and informed the police. The man, however, reportedly fled.

The crime is reported just two days after the government approved the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, which allows death penalty for people convicted of raping girls below 12 years. President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday signed the ordinance approving the amendment.