Navi Mumbai: A 26-year-old man has been arrested by APMC police for alleged sexual harassment of a 9-year-old girl residing in his locality at a chawl in Koprigaon, Vashi node, on Monday evening.Ajay Shinde, senior inspector of APMC, informed that the arrested accused has been identified as Hrushikesh Kadam, who works as housekeeping staff. Around 6.30 pm, while the girl was playing alone near his house, the accused, Kadam, under the pretext of giving her cotton balls for playing, took her inside his house. He bolted the door from inside and, removing his trousers, flashed at her. After reaching home, the girl narrated her ordeal to her mother, who confronted him, and due to the chaos, the locals gathered and summoned the police. Our police team reached the spot and escorted him to the police station.SI Shinde said, “An FIR was registered against the accused, Kadam, under the relevant section of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for the offence of sexual harassment, along with Pocso Act sections which mandate punishment for sexual assault and which deal with punishment for sexual harassment of a child. The accused was produced before the Belapur special court for Pocso Act cases on Tuesday afternoon and he has been remanded to police custody till Wed, March 18.”
