70-year-old man held for molesting 6-year-old girl in Kandivali

A 70-year-old grocery delivery executive has been arrested for allegedly molesting a six-year-old girl in a lift in a building in Kandivali, Mumbai.

MUMBAI: The Charkop police have arrested a 70-year-old grocery delivery executive for allegedly molesting a six-year-old girl in the lift of a posh building in Kandivali.

HT Image

According to the police the incident took place around 8pm on Thursday night when the girl went to meet her friend residing in the society.

“As the friend was not at home, the girl took the lift to return home. The delivery executive identified as Prafful Godha, 70, a resident of Dahanukar Wadi in Kandivali, was already in the lift,” said Manohar Shinde, a senior police officer of Charkop police station. The man misbehaved with the minor girl in the lift for the short period and fled from the spot, Shinde added.

After returning home, the girl told her father about the incident, who went and checked the CCTV camera recordings and saw that the man misbehaved with his daughter. He then approached the police.

“We immediately registered a case against the unknown man under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and section 8 (sexual assault) and section 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” said Shinde.

The police then inquired into the society and found that he was a delivery partner working with a local grocer and had come to the society to deliver groceries.

“We traced him and immediately arrested him. Godha is unmarried and has been remanded in police custody by a local court,” said the police officer.