A 36-year-old government bus driver was arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a four-year-old girl near Coimbatore, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the driver lured the victim who was playing on the road, into his house and committed the crime, police said, adding that the child later informed her parents, who filed a complaint with the Perur all women police station.
The Perur All Women Police have registered a case and arrested the bus driver identified as Shankar, a police officer said.
“The driver has sexually harassed her. We have booked him under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act,” an officer told HT on condition of anonymity.
The incident triggered sharp criticisms from the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over women’s safety under the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government.
Former BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan expressed shock over the incident and said, “It is highly condemnable that the moral value of viewing women as mothers, sisters, and daughters has degraded, and incidents of transgressions even against young children due to depraved minds are on the rise.”
In a social media post, she observed even after there was a change of government in Tamil Nadu, the rise in sexual crimes indicates that the TVK government is failing in women’s safety.
{{/usCountry}}In a social media post, she observed even after there was a change of government in Tamil Nadu, the rise in sexual crimes indicates that the TVK government is failing in women’s safety.
{{/usCountry}}She urged chief minister C Joseph Vijay for an effective functioning of the Singappen Special Task Force launched by the TVK government for women’s safety and tighten measures in a way that completely eradicates sexual crimes against women and children.
DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi urged the TVK government to formulate adequate action plan to prevent such crimes against children.
The news of a 4-year-old girl being subjected to sexual harassment by a government bus driver near Coimbatore causes deep shock and anguish, she said in a statement.
“In an environment where law and order issues continue to remain, child safety has also become a question mark,” she noted.