Men in khaki slow to apply tough new law on Mahim child molester

MUMBAI: A 63-year-old man was recently arrested on charges of sexually assaulting the six-year-old daughter of his neighbour in Mahim'sNayaNagar after luring her to his hut with the promise of chocolates. Booked for wrongful confinement and outraging modesty, he walked on bail before the cops realized that had they charged him under the provisions of the new law against child sexual harassment, he would have remained behind bars.
The police have now added the charge under section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Sexual Offences Act, 2012, on Puara Shaikh. "The new act has been added in the FIR and will be attached at the time of submitting the chargesheet. We are keeping a watch on Shaikh and he is not allowed to leave the city," said a Mahim police officer.
Shaikh confined the Class I student in his hut for half an hour and molested her when his wife and kids had gone shopping on January 6. "The victim complained to her mother the next day when she felt pain and was unable to go to the toilet," deputy commissioner of police (Zone V) Dhananjay Kulkarni told TOI on Monday. She was taken to hospital, which alerted the police after running tests on her.
Coaxed by her parents, she finally said Shaikh molested her. Shaikh was arrested that day from home.
After learning about the impact of the new act, the Mahim police booked RamgadMehr (27) who misbehaved and molested a 16-year-old girl who entered the public toilet in Ramgad locality in Mahim on January 16. "Mehr is in jail after court rejected his bail. He was booked under IPC section 354 and the under section 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the new act," said the police.