Bihar inspector molests 6-yr-old, is thrashed by public before arrest: Cops

Bihar Police officer arrested for molesting a child, was also booked under Bihar’s prohibition law after a breathanalyzer test concluded that he was under the influence of alcohol.

KATIHAR: A police inspector was arrested on Thursday in east Bihar’s Katihar district on charges of molesting a six-year-old girl who was returning home late in the evening. The police officer was first thrashed by a mob that gathered after the girl complained to her mother before he was formally placed under arrest for the child’s sexual abuse.

The Bihar police officer was SHO of Katihar’s SC/ST police station and has been suspended after his arrest for molesting a 6-year-old girl (Getty Images)

The officer, identified as Krityanand Paswan, was also booked under Bihar’s prohibition law after a breath analyzer test concluded that he was under the influence of alcohol.

Paswan was the station house officer (SHO) of Katihar’s SC/ST police station and has been suspended with immediate effect, Katihar superintendent of police (SP) Vikash Kumar said. He was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a district court on Friday.

Kumar said two First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged against him; the first in connection with molesting a minor girl and the second, for consumption of alcohol.”

“The SHO was taken into custody soon after the complaint was lodged by her mother at the additional town police station under various sections including POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act,” Kumar said.

The incident reportedly took place on Thursday evening when the minor was on her way back home with her grandmother but the precise circumstances of the crime are still unclear. According to one version, the officer was able to lure the child away from her grandmother and molested her behind the bush.

Once home, the child complained about the officer to her mother, who went to Paswan to figure out the details. “As I tried to seek information about the incident, the SHO under the influence of alcohol turned abusive” the mother alleged.

Scores of local residents who heard about the incident reached Buddhu Chowk in the town where the SHO along with other policemen was on duty. Soon, they started thrashing him, some with sticks and rods. Later, the local police station officers rescued Paswan from the crowd and took him to the town police station where he was placed under arrest.