Mumbai: 22-year-old arrested for ‘molesting’ two minor girls

The police said the accused is a serial sexual offender and he had been earlier arrested in a molestation case (Representational Image)

The Mumbai Police arrested a 22-year-old man on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls in Santacruz earlier in the day. The police said the accused is a serial sexual offender and he had been earlier arrested in a molestation case. The police said, on Thursday, the accused lured a nine-year-old girl to his room under the pretext of giving her Rs 5. After the accused started forcing himself on her, the girl raised the alarm and managed to escape.

An officer from Vakola police station said: “When the accused started forcing himself on her, the victim raised the alarm and then bit him on the hand after which she escaped from the spot.”

Later, the accused, who started roaming the same locality, targeted another minor. He approached an 11-year-old girl and took her to his room under the same pretext. An officer said: “The nine-year-old girl went back to her house and when her mother coaxed her, the girl narrated her ordeal.”

The mother decided to confront the accused and reached the spot along with the girl. They saw the accused ‘sexually assaulting’ another minor, the police said. The nine-year-old’s mother then raised the alarm but the man managed to flee. “The woman came to the police station and registered a case against the accused, who is a local resident,” said an officer.

Fearing more such attacks on minors by the accused, the police formed a special team to trace him and he was arrested from the same area that night. “We were informed that the accused was roaming the area following which we dispatched a team and arrested him,” an officer said.

During the course of interrogation, the investigators learnt that the accused is a serial offender and has a case of molestation registered against him. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The man was produced in court and has been remanded in police custody.