Pedestrian arrested for allegedly molesting teen girl in Maharashtra

Image used for representational purpose.

Police have arrested a 59-year-old man from Dombivli in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly molesting a teenage girl, an official said on Saturday, news agency PTI reported.

The official told PTI that the incident occurred on Friday morning in Gopal Nagar area.

"The victim, a 14-year-old girl, had stepped of her house when the accused, a pedestrian, caught hold of her and molested her. The minor raised an alarm, following which the people around held the man and took him to the police," assistant police inspector Vaibhav Chumble of Tilak Nagar police station in Dombivli said.

The accused was arrested and booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 354 (assault or uses criminal force to any woman intending to outrage her modesty) and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

In a separate case, on June 21, the Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra have booked a man from Nashik for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl and demanding Rs 50,000 for not releasing her photos on social media, an official told the PTI. The victim, a resident of Panvel in Raigad district, became friends with the man on social media, he said. However, the suspect allegedly threatened to reveal their friendship to the girl's parents and forced her to send her photos and videos in the nude, the official said quoting the FIR. He also created a fake account on Instagram in the name of the girl. The man travelled to Panvel from Nashik and also clicked selfies with the girl, the official added. The police have registered a case under sections 387 (Putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion) 354 (assault or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage her modesty), 354 (d) (stalking), 506 (threat be to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act.

In another case, as on May 29, an offence was registered against a professor of a medical college for allegedly molesting a 21-year-old student in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police told news agency PTI. Based on a complaint lodged by a first-year MBBS student, a case under section 354 (whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage) has been registered against the professor, Palghar Police PRO Sachin Navadkar told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)