An 11-year-old girl was allegedly molested by a family friend for over a year before the incident came to light last week. The suspect, a 45-year-old engineer with a public sector undertaking, was arrested Tuesday.

According to the police, the girl, a Class 6 student of a private school in Noida and a resident of a high rise under the jurisdiction of the Phase 3 police, was being sexually assaulted by the neighbour since last year. The incident came to light on May 16, when the girl spoke of her ordeal to a sports coach in school, who later informed her parents about the problem.

“We got a call from the school on May 16, after which I and my husband rushed there. The coach informed us that our neighbour had been molesting our daughter on the pretext of helping her with her studies. He often taught his son, and our daughter would go there as well. We also informed one of our close friends about the incident, who went with us to school,” the mother stated in her complaint.

After returning home from school, the parents spoke to their daughter and the girl narrated her ordeal. “She said it had started a year ago with a kiss here and there. Soon after it became worse with him touching her private parts. She said that on one occasion, he even appeared to be drunk and she also said that it was smelling bad. Every time he told her that it would be the last time but would threaten her with dire consequences if she informed anyone about the incident. He even molested her on social occasions while we were all busy elsewhere like Independence Day celebrations or a puja function in the society. One time, I was with his wife when he went up and abused our daughter,” wrote the mother.

Based on the family’s complaint, the man was booked under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code along with sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Officials of the child helpline also helped the family with the FIR registration. “It was the school authorities along with the parents who brought the case to our attention. This was a sensitive issue and the school handled it well,” said Satya Prakash, programme manager of FXB India Suraksha, an NGO helping vulnerable women and children.

“We arrested him Tuesday morning. A medical examination had been done for the girl when the family filed the complaint,” said Harinandan Sharma, acting SHO, Phase 3 police station. The suspect was produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail.

First Published: May 22, 2019 09:11 IST