Man booked for stalking, molesting 12-year-old schoolgirl in Thane

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The Thane Police in Maharashtra have registered a case against a man in Bhiwandi town of Thane district for allegedly stalking and molesting a 12-year-old schoolgirl, an official said, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the case against the accused, identified as Safiullah Matiullah Ansari (22), was registered at Shantinagar police station on Tuesday, he said.

"On October 19, he first accosted the victim and touched her inappropriately on the playground of her school. Three days later, when she was returning home from school after her exam along with her aunts, the accused followed her and teased her," the police official said, as per the PTI.

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When the girl's aunts objected to his behaviour, he abused them and the minor, and warned them of dire consequences, he said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the victim and her family members, a case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including 126(2) (wrongful restraint) ,74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 78 (stalking) and 351 (criminal intimidation), besides the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police said, the news agency reported on Wednesday.

Further investigations into the matter were underway, he said.

Man held for molesting 5-year-old girl

In an another incident last week, the Thane Police have arrested a man from Bhiwandi taluka in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly molesting a five-year-old girl by offering her sweets, an official said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Kongaon village on Thursday afternoon, when the victim was playing outside her residence.

"The 22-year-old accused, identified as Mohammad Arju Badrealam Shah, approached the minor and offered her sweets while she was playing. He then touched her inappropriately. Scared, she ran to her mother and narrated the incident. Soon, people nabbed and thrashed him," an official said.

A complaint was later lodged, on the basis of which a case under section 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against the accused, and he was arrested, the police said.

(with PTI inputs)