mumbai

Updated: Jan 09, 2019 12:38 IST

The Panvel police are on the lookout for an unidentified man who is alleged to have forcefully showed a pornographic clip to a minor girl and molested her in her building on New Year. Police suspect the culprit to be a serial child abuser.

According to the police, the 10-year-old girl, who lived with her family in Thane Naka, was on her way to a morning tuition class when she encountered the man. “The accused waylaid her and then showed her a porn clip from his cell phone. He also touched her inappropriately while doing so. The girl, however, freed herself and ran away from the spot after a while. On returning home, she narrated the incident to her parents,” said N Kadam, assistant inspector.

The girl’s family approached the police after a few days to lodge a complaint. Using CCTV footage of the building’s security system, the man was identified.

Kadam said, “The accused appears to be 25 tp 30 years old. He was wearing a monkey cap, but he uncovered his face as soon as he entered the compound. He was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.”

A case under sections 341, 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against the culprit.

“Observing his body language, we suspect he is a serial child abuser and has committed similar crimes in the past. We have alerted all police stations and the crime branch about it. We have also sent the CCTV footage and his photographs to them,” Kadam said.