55-year-old arrested for forcing minor to watch pornography on bus

The girl was seated next to the accused and when she tried to leave, he held her hand and forced her to watch

MUMBAI: A 55-year-old man was arrested for allegedly showing pornographic content to a minor girl and misbehaving with her while traveling on a BEST bus on Friday evening.

55-year-old arrested for forcing minor to watch pornography on bus

Both the accused and complainant are residents of Wadala. At the time of the incident the complainant was traveling with her seven-year-old daughter on the bus to Lalbaug for shopping. The accused was travelling from Anik Agar depot to Parel on the same bus for work. “The girl was sitting next to the accused. After the bus crossed the Dadar flyover bridge, the accused began watching pornography on his mobile phone,” said a police officer. He added that the accused showed the video to the girl, and when she tried to move to another seat, he allegedly grabbed her hand and forced her to watch the video. The girl then raised her voice to call her mother, who confronted the accused. The mother and other passengers caught hold of the accused and called the police.

Officers from Bhoiwada police station who were patrolling the area rushed to the spot and caught the accused, added the official. The girl and her mother went to the police station and based on the mother’s statement, an FIR was registered against the accused under sections 74 (molestation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, said senior inspector Sachin Kadam.

The arrested man’s mobile phone was seized by the police and sent to the forensic lab for investigation.