The All Woman Police Station (West) of the Coimbatore City Police arrested a 38-year-old man on Saturday on charges of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl of Kuniyamuthur. The accused was identified as Abbas (38), a vegetable vendor of P.M. Nagar in Ukkadam.
According to the police, the man got married 10 years ago and has a son and a daughter. A few years ago he was living with a widow of Edayarpalayam, near Kuniyamuthur. The woman has two daughters aged 16 and 14 years, respectively and a 12-year-old son.
The widow was a daily wager and her elder daughter is a Class X student and stays in a hostel. The younger daughter dropped out of schooling after her eighth standard and was alone at home. The police quoted the victim’s mother as saying that Abbas was sexually harassing the girl when she was alone at home.
The woman lodged a complaint with the all woman police on Friday. A case was registered against Abbas under sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and section 506(i) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. He was arrested on Saturday. The girl was taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
