Noida: 67-year-old man shop owner held for sexually harassing 7-year-old girl

Senior officers said the arrest came after a nearby shop owner secretly recorded the elderly man’s act on his mobile phone and alerted police

A 67-year-old meat shop owner was arrested on Thursday for allegedly sexually harassing a 7-year-old girl inside his meat shop in Noida’s Sector 110 on Tuesday, police said, adding that the arrest came after a nearby shop owner secretly recorded the elderly man’s act on his mobile phone and alerted police.

On Tuesday, when the minor went to the nearby meat shop while playing outside, the elderly man sexually harassed her for around two minutes, police said after watching the video. (Representational image)

Police said the girl resided with her family members in a makeshift home under the jurisdiction of the Phase 2 police station in Noida.

“On Tuesday, when the minor went to the nearby meat shop while playing outside, the elderly man sexually harassed her for around two minutes. When he was harassing the girl inside his shop, a nearby shop owner spotted the incident and secretly recorded the entire act on his phone,” said a police officer, asking not to be named.

Later, the video was handed over to police, and they took cognizance of the matter. “A case under section 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act was registered on a complaint by the shop owner against the suspect on Wednesday night, and he was arrested on Thursday,” said Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida.

During the investigation, it came to fore that as the suspect’s shop is close to her home and she often visits it while playing. It is not clear yet how many times the suspect sexually harassed her in the past, said police, adding that the elderly man’s name has been withheld to protect the identity of the survivor, and further investigation is underway.