Mumbai grocery shop employee held for sexual assault of girl

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An official on Friday said police have arrested a 39-year-old Mumbai grocery shop employee for allegedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, reported news agency PTI.

The man allegedly targeted the child when she went to the shop, located in the Kalachowki area in central Mumbai, to buy biscuits on Tuesday evening, the official told PTI.

On the pretext of giving biscuits, the man called her inside and allegedly touched her inappropriately.

She rescued herself when the accused, who was alone in the store, tried to remove the child's clothes.

The girl was aware of "good touch and bad touch" due to which she realised the intention of the Mumbai grocery store employee and escaped from the shop and alerted her mother, the official told PTI.

The official told PTI when the girl's mother went to the shop to confront the employee, who was drunk at the time, he started misbehaving with her.

The mother then filed a police complaint against him.

The Kalachowki police station registered a case against the man for sexual assault under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children of Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested him, the official added.

In another case, the police on Friday said at least 14 police personnel were injured after a group of persons allegedly pelted them with stones demanding the custody of a man, who was arrested for sexually assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl at Jamner in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, reported PTI.

The incident of stone-pelting occurred around 9.30 pm on Thursday outside the Jamner police station, they said.

"A six-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered at Chinchkheda Shivar village in Jamner on the night of June 11. The accused person had fled away from the spot taking advantage of darkness," an official said, reported PTI.

"The police had launched a search for the accused, who was finally arrested on Thursday. But after getting information about his arrest, the deceased girl's family members, their relatives and local residents gathered outside the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them so that they can punish him for the heinous crime," he said, reported PTI.

The people started agitating outside the police station. Some time later, they learnt that the police shifted the accused person to a safer place. This angered the crowd and some of them started hurling stones at the police station, he added.

"A few members of the group even attacked the police and damaged the public property by indulging in arson," the police official said, reported PTI.

At least 14 police personnel, including an inspector, were injured in the incident, he said, reported PTI.

The police used force to disperse the crowd, he said, adding that police personnel were deployed in large numbers after the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)