Man molests 14-year-old domestic help in Mumbai

The girl, in her statement to the police, said that the accused had touched her inappropriately and threatened her against disclosing the act to anyone

The Bandra police booked a 55-year-old man on Sunday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl who was employed at his home as a caretaker for his ailing mother.

The accused’s wife had taken her mother to the doctor, while the accused’s 80-year-old mother, who is bedridden, was in her bedroom.(HT File)

According to the police, the incident took place on Friday. The accused’s wife had taken her mother to the doctor, while the accused’s 80-year-old mother, who is bedridden, was in her bedroom.

“I finished my work and tried to leave around 7.30pm, but he said his wife was stuck in traffic and his mother will be left unattended if I leave. He then came towards me and touched me inappropriately. I pushed him away but he repeated the act. When I began screaming, he threatened to harm me if I disclosed the incident to anyone,” read the girl’s statement to the Bandra police.

The girl then went home and told her parents that she will not go to the accused’s home from the next day and revealed the incident to them. Her father approached the police on Sunday, where a first information report (FIR) was filed under sections 354 (criminal force on a woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 8 (sexual assault) of POCSO Act.

Girish Anavarkar, senior police inspector, Bandra police station, said, “We have lodged an FIR and are probing further. We will arrest the accused soon.”

The girl told the police that she lives in a chawl in Bandra (West) with her parents and was sent to work at the accused’s home owing to her family’s financial distress.