Man molests mentally challenged minor girl in Thane; case lodged

Police in Thane district registered a case against a man for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl in Bhiwandi. The complaint was filed months later by the victim’s mother, and police booked the accused under BNS sections and the POCSO Act

Thane: Police have registered a case against a man for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl in Maharashtra’s Thane district, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the Bhiwandi area on December 12 last year, but the victim’s mother approached the police with a complaint on March 8 and did not specify the reason for the delay in reporting the crime, they said.

---

The victim and her sister had gone to a relative’s house, where the accused, apparently aware of the girl’s intellectual disability, allegedly touched her inappropriately, an official from Kongaon police station said.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered on Monday against the accused under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

A probe was on into the case.