An 11-year-old girl was allegedly molested by a 67-year-old shopkeeper in south-east Delhi’s Ambedkar Nagar on Tuesday.
The video of the incident was recorded by a neighbour and shared with others to establish the crime.
The shopkeeper and the neighbour were arrested, the police said on Wednesday.
‘Repeatedly harassed’
Ram Kishan was arrested for allegedly touching the minor inappropriately at his shop when she had gone to buy a bottle of mustard oil.
“The father gave a written complaint alleging that the shopkeeper, Ram Kishan, took his daughter inside the shop and touched her inappropriately,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Romil Baaniya.
The father stated in his complaint that his daughter told him told that Ram Kishan had been harassing her for the last one year.
Viral video
The police said that based on the father’s complaint, a case under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sectionsof Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was registered and the accused was arrested.
The whole incident came to light when a video of the act, captured by a neighbour, went viral in the area and was also seen by the girl’s father.
Held under IT Act
Ram Kishan also submitted a complaint with the police alleging that the neighbour shared the video to malign his image.
“He said that the video was recorded and circulated with the intention to dishonour him as he was having a property dispute with him,” said Mr. Baaniya.
Based on the accused’s complaint and preliminary investigation, the neighbour was arrested and Section 67 of the IT Act was added to the case.
