A seven-year-old girl assaulted by neighbour in Bhiwandi

A 7-year-old girl was allegedly beaten up by her neighbor in Bhiwandi over a previous enmity. The accused has been arrested. The girl's face is swollen and she has several injury marks. A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

A seven-year-old girl was allegedly beaten up by her neighbour in Bhiwandi who wanted to take revenge on her parents over some previous enmity, police said. The accused, identified as Irfan Shaikh, has been arrested.

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According to the police, the girl’s and Shaikh’s families live in the Naya Basti area and have been quarreling over several issues for a long time. Around 5.30 pm on Friday, when the girl was returning home from school, Shaikh, 35, grabbed her hand and took her to a nearby water tank, a police officer said.

The officer said after the girl started crying, Shaikh kept on slapping her and later banged her face and head on a wall. “Passersby, who saw this assault, grabbed him and handed him over to the police. The girl fell unconscious and was admitted to a hospital. Now she has been discharged. The girl’s face is completely swollen and has several injury marks.”

A case has been registered under section 354 (whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of Indian Penal Code and section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) and 12 (whoever commits sexual harassment upon a child shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine) of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.