Mumbai: The police on Tuesday arrested the owner of a bakery in Saki Naka for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old school student for the last one month after making her unconscious.
According to the Saki Naka police, the accused, identified as Sadiq Ansari, runs a bakery across the street from a school at Asalfa village in Ghatkopar. The matter came to light on Monday afternoon when the student reached home much late than usual. When her parents asked about the reason, the girl said Ansari had called her into his bakery after her classes and made her smell a handkerchief soaked in a strong liquid, which made her feel light-headed. Ansari then allegedly took her inside the bakery and she was vaguely conscious of him touching her body inappropriately. The victim said that she ran out of the bakery soon after she regained full control of her movements.
The victim’s parents took her to Saki Naka police station. While her statement was being recorded, the victim told the police that Ansari had regularly been calling her to his bakery for the last one month.
“The victim has said that she had purchased a cake from his bakery on Christmas. A few days later, Ansari called out to her while she was on her way home from school and asked her when she was going to pay him for the cake, to which she responded that she had paid the same day. Ansari called her to the bakery again two days later, and made her smell the handkerchief, after which she fell unconscious,” said an officer with the Saki Naka police.
The victim said that Ansari repeated the act several times till Monday, but it was only on Monday that she realised what he was doing as she was semi-conscious this time.
The police registered an FIR of molestation under the Indian Penal Code and of sexual abuse of a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and arrested Ansari on Tuesday.
“The locals have made allegations of the accused exploiting other girls in a similar manner, but no victim has come forward as yet. We are interrogating the accused to verify this,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinayak Deshmukh, Zone X.
