The daughter of a 40-year-old man accused of raping and killing a minor girl in Orissa's Balasore district wants him to be given the death penalty. Karunakar Das, a resident of Dumuda village, allegedly raped and murdered a seven-year-old girl of neighbouring Naharpatana village Saturday. Das' 14-year-old daughter Sorojini told IANS: "My father is a bad man. This is not his first crime. He used to consume liquor often and beat us mercilessly. He had also tried to sexually abuse my sister and me. I want him to be given the death penalty." The girl said she and her younger sister Rajani were so afraid of their father that they had been staying in their uncle's house. Their mother had died 10 years ago. While Sorojini is a school dropout, her sister is a Class 7 student. Police arrested Das Saturday but thousands of infuriated villagers rushed to the police post and tried to lynch him. When police prevented them from doing so, they began pelting stones. This led to clashes in which about a hundred people were injured.
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