Mumbai man arrested for sexually assaulting two minors

The accused took four girls to his residence by luring them with eatables and then sexually assaulted two of them.

Dharavi police on Saturday arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, both aged below 10 years, in his neighbourhood.

For representational purposes. (HT FILE)

The accused took four girls to his residence by luring them with eatables and then sexually assaulted two of them. After one of the girls informed her mother, the matter was brought to the notice of police. While the accused managed to escape initially, he was later nabbed on Saturday.

The accused lives in 90-feet road area and works as a driver at a private firm. According to Dharavi police, he is a relative of one of the four girls.

“On Friday night, the accused, with an intention to sexually assault, took the four girls —two aged five, one aged seven and the other girl aged eight years — to his place after luring them with eatables. He latched the door from inside and allegedly sexually assaulted two of them and later asked all of them to go home and not to tell anyone about it. However, one of the girls told her mother about it, following which the parents went to the accused’s house. But by then the accused had managed to escape,” a police officer said.

After the matter was reported to Dharavi police, they launched a manhunt for the accused and arrested him from Sion (West).

“The accused has been booked under sections 376, 354 and 342 of Indian Penal Code and 4,8 and 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act for sexually assaulting the two minor girls,” said Ramesh Nangre, senior inspector, Dharavi police station.

Medical examinations of the girls were done and the reports are awaited. Meanwhile, their clothes as well as that of the accused have been seized as evidence.

In cases under Pocso Act, prosecution heavily rely on statements of the minors as they are recorded before the magistrate under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). In this case, the court will take the call on whether to record the statement of the girls or not as they are too young, said an officer.

“On Sunday, the accused was produced before a special court and has been remanded in police custody till November 27,” Nangre said.

The police will also check if the accused similarly exploited other girls in past, another officer said.