A 76-year-old man who allegedly molested an eight-year-old girl inside the lift of a highrise in Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram area was arrested on Tuesday after her parents approached the police and lodged an FIR against him.
According to the FIR, the incident took place between 2pm to 4pm on Monday when the girl , a class 3 student,had gone to play along with her friends and when the accused boarded the same lift in which she and another minor girl was present. The lawyer representing the case said that the CCTV footage showed suspicious movement of the accused before and after the incident.
“The man was waiting on the ground floor near the lift and his movements were suspicious. It seems he was waiting for the children to arrive. When they arrived, he touched the girl inappropriately and molested her. When the lift stopped at the first floor, both girls ran away and the victim told her grandmother,” the lawyer said.
“After the two children fled the lift, the man went to the second floor and searched for them. He then again boarded the lift and came back to the ground floor to look for them. The girl told us that the man had been involved in couple of similar acts with her in past couple of days. His movements were captured on the CCTV. After this, the parents approached police,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“After the two children fled the lift, the man went to the second floor and searched for them. He then again boarded the lift and came back to the ground floor to look for them. The girl told us that the man had been involved in couple of similar acts with her in past couple of days. His movements were captured on the CCTV. After this, the parents approached police,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The accused is stated to be running a shop and stays with his wife and a son in the same building as the girl.
Following the complaint, the police lodged an FIR under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 354 (molestation) and 354b (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and also levied provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
“The man has been arrested following information and complaint by girl’s parents. The man did not comment out of shame. The friend of the victim also testified before the police that the man molested her friend,” Shlok Kumar, superintendent of police (city), said