57-yr-old grocery store owner arrested for sexually assaulting minor girl

MUMBAI:
A 57-year-old grocery store owner and his 26-year-old employee were arrested by the DN Nagar police for the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old-girl of their locality. The police said the store owner had sexually assaulted the minor after blackmailing her with a video he had made of her talking with a male classmate. The 26-year-old was arrested for aiding and abetting his employer.
“The main accused befriended the girl in the first week of November. He then asked one of her schoolmates to talk to her, and while they were talking, he made a video of them together. Later, he started blackmailing the girl with the video, saying that he knew the mother of the girl was very strict, and he will show her the video if the girl did not comply with his demands,” said a police officer.
The store owner then sexually assaulted the frightened girl, while his employee kept a close watch. When a schoolmate came to know about the matter, he convinced the girl to inform her parents about it.
“Finally, the girl told her parents, and they approached us. We have registered a case against the accused under sections 64(2) (punishment for rape) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and sections 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault), 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 8 (punishment for sexual assault), 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) and 17 (punishment for abetment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” said the officer.
The two accused will be produced in court on Tuesday.