Navi Mumbai man held for molesting schoolgirl

PUNE: The

Kondhwa

police on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man from Nerul in Navi Mumbai for molesting a schoolgirl (12) at her residence in the city around 11am.

The victim’s mother and the suspect are friends because they had worked together at a construction firm in Pune. The woman still works there but the suspect left the job and shifted to Nerul. He is staying there with his wife.

The woman regarded the suspect as her brother. He and his wife would visit her residence often.

The Kondhwa police’s sub-inspector, Krishna

Kambale

, said, “The suspect visited the woman’s residence on Sunday to meet her but she was not at home. He took advantage of the situation and molested her daughter before fleeing.”

Kambale said, “The panicked girl told her mother about the acts committed by the suspect when she returned home in the afternoon. The suspect was arrested following a tip-off after the woman lodged an FIR.”

The suspect was arrested under Section 354 (molestation) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 8 (punishment for sexual assault) and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He would be in police custody till April 4, Kambale added.