DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Thousands of protesters in Bangladesh clashed with police in a bid to seize a suspect accused of raping a four-year-old girl, officials said Friday.

In recent months, the South Asian country has seen a spike in reported cases of violence against women and children, fuelling widespread anger.

Police said the suspect, Monir Hossain, was detained by locals in Bangladesh’s second-largest city of Chattogram and was being handed over to the authorities on Thursday when tensions boiled over among the roughly 5,000 people present.

Crowds surrounded the police vehicle and attempted to seize Hossain, prompting officers to deploy reinforcements and fire tear gas. 

The clashes lasted nearly six hours and a police vehicle was torched.

“The situation is now under control, and the perpetrator will be taken to court today,” Chattogram Metropolitan Police spokesperson Aminur Rashid told Agence France-Presse (AFP). 

The four-year-old was undergoing hospital treatment.

The unrest came two days after the alleged rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Dhaka shocked the country.

In Bangladesh’s capital, residents protested on Thursday by blocking roads for hours and rallying in several areas demanding justice.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman met the victim’s family in Dhaka and promised swift justice.

Reported cases of violence against women and children have climbed to 2,011 in April from 1,425 in March and 1,181 in February, according to official data.

Rights activists say impunity is widespread in Bangladesh’s glacial judicial system.

A recent study by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court and the non-profit BRAC found the conviction rate in such cases stands at just three percent, while around 70 percent of the accused are eventually released.

“The lack of justice has sparked this wave of protests,” Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir of the legal rights group Ain o Salish Kendra told AFP. 

“People want to see that justice is being done.”