Out on bail in POCSO case, man molests 2 schoolgirls

The accused used to make obscene facial expressions at the girls near their school, the police said.

On Tuesday evening, when the girls were going home after school, while they were in line for auto rickshaw, the accused took advantage of the crowded place and inappropriately touched and molested them, said an officer.

The girls screamed for help, and the local residents caught the 46-year-old man and handed him over to the police.

Based on the complaint filed by mother of one of the girls, police arrested the accused.

Police then found that he had already been arrested in a similar case of molesting a minor  in 2017.

His bail plea was cancelled by the court considering the serious nature of the crime. However, he eventually got out on bail after remaining in jail for over three years. He is now again booked in another Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act case.

“We are checking if he has similarly targeted other girls in the area,” another police officer, who is part of the probe, said.