Hyderabad: RC Puram police of the Cyberabad Commissionerate have registered a Pocso case against a 66-year-old caretaker of a place of worship after he was allegedly caught red-handed with a 15-year-old girl inside the premises by locals on Thursday night. The accused was arrested on Saturday.According to RC Puram Inspector Lalu Naik, at around 8 pm on Thursday, local youths noticed the caretaker entering the sanctum sanctorum with a minor girl and closing the door. Suspecting foul play, they entered the place of worship while recording the incident on their mobile phones and forced the door open.In a video of the incident that later went viral on social media, the accused is seen in a partially clothed state, while the minor girl is standing nearby. Police learnt about the incident through social media posts on Friday.“On a complaint lodged by a local, a case was registered under Sections 296 (obscene acts) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs) of the BNS, and Sections 7 (sexual assault) and 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the Pocso Act on Friday night,” the inspector said.During the preliminary probe, police found that the 15-year-old girl’s father had recently done some work at the accused’s house. It was during this period that the accused became acquainted with the minor.“On Thursday night, he allegedly took the girl to the place of worship on the pretext of buying her a mobile phone and sexually assaulted her,” a police officer said.Police arrested the accused at his residence on Saturday. He will be produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody, the inspector added.
