GHAZIABAD: A 73-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl who called him “abba”. The parents of the minor girl have alleged that the accused, Aziz , had assaulted their daughter when he had come home looking for a rope on Monday.

An FIR has been registered against Aziz under IPC Section 376 ( rape ) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, at Masuri police station. The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the minor girl’s father, a welding mechanic.

The girl’s family had pulled her out of a private school earlier this year because of financial constraints. She is the eldest of three siblings.

The accused lived a few houses away and used to visit the girl’s home often.

The girl’s mother said Aziz was referred to as “abba” because of his old age.

“He had come home around 8.30pm on Monday, asking for a piece of rope to tie together a bundle of crops. I was cooking on the terrace with my in-laws. Aziz was playing on the first-floor with my daughter,” the mother said.

Much after Aziz had left, the girl’s uncle, a hairdresser who is around 15 years old, told her mother he had seen the accused in a compromising position with his niece.

“Initially, I could not believe what I was told. My brother-in-law told me he had seen Aziz kissing my daughter. I called my daughter upstairs and questioned her. She began crying and narrated the entire incident to me. She told me ‘ abba ’ had touched her inappropriately and inserted his hand inside her skirt,” the mother said.

Police have conducted a medical examination on the minor girl. “We had picked up the accused for questioning after receiving the complaint last night. He was formally arrested on Tuesday and sent to judicial custody,” Masuri circle officer DSP Prabhat Kumar said.

