Jalandhar, Nov. 24 -- A 46-year-old man has been arrested on charges of raping and murdering his teenaged daughter's best friend in Jalandhar, police said on Sunday. The 14-year-old victim used to stay in the adjacent house, said police. The body was retrieved from a washroom of the accused's house, creating widespread outrage. The accused was caught and brutally thrashed by the enraged mob. Police commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur Randhawa said the victim had come to the accused's house to meet his daughter when the incident took place. "The accused was alone at his house on Saturday evening as his wife and their daughter had gone out," Randhawa added. She added that the victim's family filed a missing complaint in the evening after she didn't come back. The family tried to locate the girl but couldn't find her following which they reported the matter to the police. "We immediately registered a missing complaint and initiated investigation. A police team led by ASI Mangat Ram was sent to search the girl but it returned empty handed. Also, it failed to check the house of the accused," said the police commissioner. Later, some locals spotted the victim entering the accused's house around 4pm in a CCTV footage. The girl never came out. "When the locals enquired about the girl from the accused, he failed to give a satisfactory answer. He also showed reluctance when the locals insisted on searching his house. Infuriated, the locals barged into his house and saw the body in one of the washrooms," said Randhawa. "The police were informed and the body was retrieved. The locals caught the accused and started tharshing him mercilessly. The police managed to rescue the accused and took him to the hospital," said Randhawa. "Prima facie, it appears that the girl was strangulated to death. The autopsy will be conducted by a board of doctors and the whole process will be videographed as a part of the legal proceedings," she said. "ASI Mangat Ram has been put under suspension for negligence in duty and a departmental probe will be initiated against him," said Randhawa. "It is very unfortunate. Had the ASI performed his duty diligently, the victim might have been traced early and rushed to the hospital," she added. She said the accused is undergoing treatment at the civil hospital and will be arrested after he is discharged. A case has been registered against the accused under sections 103 (murder), 65(1) (rape) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other relevant sections of the POCSO Act, said the top cop....