Maharashtra: Conductor booked for sexually harassing girl on ST bus in Navi Mumbai

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The Navi Mumbai Police in Maharashtra have booked a conductor of a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus for allegedly sexually harassing a passenger, an official said on Saturday, the PTI reported.

According to the news agency, an offence was registered against the ST bus conductor, the police said.

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Based on a complaint lodged by the 17-year-old student, the police on Friday registered an offence against the 48-year-old conductor under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said, according to the PTI.

The complainant alleged that she was travelling on a bus from Dapoli to Mumbai on the intervening night of November 26 and 27, when the accused touched her inappropriately while she was sleeping, the police official said.

No arrest has been made in the case so far, and investigations are underway, the official added.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man has been arrested by Navi Mumbai police for reportedly sexually assaulting and impregnating a teenage girl and abetting her suicide, an official told news agency PTI on Saturday. According to the report, a Koparkhairane police station official, the accused was arrested on Friday.

The suspect was reportedly arrested after a complaint was filed by the mother of the deceased girl. The accused was from the Mumbai suburb of Govandi, the report added.

Reportedly, the accused has been charged under Sections 305 (abetting the suicide of a minor) and 376(2)(n) (repeated rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the official's statement to PTI, the accused befriended the accused and later repeatedly sexually assaulted her knowing she is a minor which led to her pregnancy. On November 28, the minor, distraught over the happening, died by suicide by hanging herself. The official said that the police are currently conducting an inquiry into the case.

In an another incident, on Novermber 27, 23-year-old man was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh for rape of a 9-year-old girl in Palghar, the police said on Monday, according to the PTI.

The news agency reported, the Palghar Police on Saturday apprehended the suspect with the help of the local special task force in Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh, senior inspector Pramod Badakh said, as per the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)