Garage owner in police custody for sexually assaulting minor boys

PUNE An auto garage owner has been remanded to police custody for sexually assaulting three minor boys over the past few months in Kothrud

PUNE An auto garage owner has been remanded to police custody for sexually assaulting three minor boys over the past few months in Kothrud.

An auto garage owner has been remanded to police custody for sexually assaulting three minor boys over the past few months in Kothrud (REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE)

The man has been identified as Vinayak Wagh, 45, a resident of Kothrud area. He was produced in the court of Judge S Ponkshe. “He was produced in court and remanded to four days in police custody,” said Public prosecutor Shubhangi Deshmukh.

Among the victims, the eldest is 12 years-old, one is 10 while the youngest is 8 years-old, according to the police.

“Due to schools being shut and online classes from home, the parents wanted the children to learn some skills at the garage owned by Wagh. Hence, the children would visit him as their parents would go to work. Two of them are siblings while the third one is a relative,” said Mahendra Jagtap, senior police inspector of Kothrud police station.

They have all said that the man sexually assaulted them at least once in the past year-and-a-half that they had been visiting him, according to the police. The boys decided to tell their father after the man repeated the assault.

A case under Sections 377 of Indian Penal Code along with Sections 4 and 6 of Protection of children from sexual offence (POCSO) Act has been registered at Kothrud police station.