A 10-year-old girl who was attacked by a mentally disturbed person died on Thursday after three weeks of treatment in a private hospital.

S. Senthilkumar (44), a resident of Sakthinaickenpalayam near Tiruchengode in Namakkal district, attacked the girl, who lived near his house, with a knife on July 27 and also attacked two persons who came to the girl’s aid. The girl was later admitted to a private hospital in Salem.

In a press release, the police said that the accused, Senthilkumar, who had earlier worked in an IT company in Bengaluru, was mentally disturbed and was being looked after by his mother, Sambooranam, at her house. After the incident, the police took the accused and his mother for examination.

The girl’s relatives staged a street protest the next day, alleging that the accused had misbehaved with the girl and assaulted her to cover up the incident. Following the protest, the police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act, arrested the accused and his mother and remanded them in judicial custody.

The relatives of the deceased did not allow the police to take the body for autopsy and demanded severe punishment for the perpetrator. The police assured them that they would consider the demands. Later, they allowed the police to remove the body.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister MK Stalin issued a statement expressing his condolences and announcing a sum of Rs 300,000 for the kin of the deceased. Similarly, the Prime Minister announced Rs 100,000 each for the two persons Thangarasu and Muthuvel, who were injured in the attack by the accused.