The police arrested an Arabic teacher at a mosque here, after allegations that he made an attempt to rape a six-year-old girl on Wednesday night.

The accused, Gufran Ahmed Sheikh (32), was arrested under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 on the basis of a complaint lodged by the child’s father.

The police told The Hindu that Gufran, a resident of Bihar, was teaching Arabic to children in the mosque at Bukhari Galli in the Market Police limits.

According to the complaint, he called the victim to his room around 8 p.m. under the pretext of giving her a book and tried to sexually assault her. However, the girl managed to run away and informed her mother about the incident. The child’s angry parents and neighbours rushed to the mosque, caught the accused and assaulted him before handing him over to the police.

The police said that the accused was subjected to medical examination on Thursday and that he would be produced before court on Friday.

Six-year-old girl manages to run to her mother for safety