Mumbai: Molestor who flashed at young girls caught by brave minors jailed

A special children's court on Friday convicted a person for flashing and masturbating at two minor girls on their way to school. The court sentenced him to three years imprisonment.

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One of the girls, a 17-year-old resident of Bandra, had stated to the court that she would walk to and fro school with her 16-year-old friend at 11:15 am and 6 pm. She said, "On November 11, 2016, I was going to school with my friend. When we passed a ground, a person wearing a black t-shirt came near us. He unzipped his pants and began making obscene gestures."

The girl further stated that they were frightened because the accused began to chase them. She then told her friend that they should catch him. The girls informed a 16-year-old classmate who was standing across the road about the incident. The boy helped them catch him. The same statement was made by the 16-year-old girl to the court.

The 16-year-old boy who helped the girls catch the accused, in his testimony to the court said, "I was at the gate of the school. The girls came running towards me and told that a person was teasing them."

He further said that the girls told him that the accused showed them his private parts. The girls then went to catch the man and the boy followed them to help. They caught the accused at a nearby signal and took him to nearest traffic police chowky. The 17-year-old girl then informed her mother.

All three then went to Nirmal Nagar police station and recorded their statements and the accused was arrested. The court convicted the accused, Manojkumar Singh, under Sections 354 (d) (stalking) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.