46-year-old held for molesting 10-year-old girl

THE ACCUSED, JOHNNY ALIAS MORRIS, ALLEGEDLY CALLED THE MINOR INSIDE HIS SHOP ON SOME PRETEXT AND TOUCHED HER INAPPROPRIATELY

The Jaipur police on Sunday arrested a 46-year-old man for allegedly molesting a 10-yearold girl, said officials.

According to the police, the incident took place at Katputli Nagar on Saturday evening when the victim had gone to the man’s shop in the area. “The accused, Johnny alias Morris (46), allegedly called the 10-yearold inside on some pretext and touched her inappropriately,” said Raghuveer Singh Bhati, station house officer, Jyoti Nagar police station.

When the girl’s parents came to know about the incident, the police were informed. “We rounded up the accused and after interrogating him, arrested the man on Sunday. A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” said the police.

Further investigation is on and more can be said as the probe progresses, the police added.

Jaipur has seen several incidents of minor girls being molested in recent times. Three such cases took place within a fortnight last month. In the three incidents, girls aged between 10 and 15 were allegedly sexually assaulted and three separate cases were lodged in the Pratap Nagar, Bajaj Nagar and Toonga police stations.

According to the state home department data, 5,995 cases of sexual violence against young girls have been registered in Rajasthan in the last three years. Charge-sheets have been filed in 4,946 cases. The government has taken no action against investigating officers who have failed to file charge-sheets. A woman of Sanaga village under Sadar police station area in Barmer district has lodged a police complaint accusing a man of her village of torturing her for years after branding her a witch.

She told the police that her husband died about 15 years ago and since then she has been somehow managing the livelihood of her family.

“About five-six year back a local, who practices black magic, branded me as a witch claiming that my husband’s soul is residing in me and spread rumours that my husband’s soul is harassing the family and whole village, and also responsible for all bad things happenings in the village,” stated the complainant. She claimed that the accused would often beat up her with iron rods.

“Many a time I was forced to sleep in a temple in the night,” she alleged.

Rajendra Choudhary, station house officer, Sadar police station, said the police have registered the woman’s complaint and are probing the matter.