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TRICHY: A 43-year old man was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a six-year-old girl in Trichy on Tuesday. It is alleged that the police kept the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) in the dark about the incident, which happened nearly three months ago.

The Fort All Women police have arrested A Abbas alias Mohammed Ilias from Beema Nagar area in Trichy on charges of penetrative sexual assault of an LKG girl student who was his neighbour.

The girl’s father reported the matter to the police on Tuesday following which the police investigated the case. They found that the accused had brought the girl to his house and committed the crime. The girl was assaulted repeatedly by him from November 26, 2017. However, the issue came to light on Tuesday only. The police registered a case under section 5 (l), (m) r/w 6 of Protection of children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act and 506 (i) of IPC. Abbas was remanded in judicial custody.

However, it is alleged that the police have failed to follow the guidelines to ensure the welfare of the victim. The procedure of passing the information to CWC and DCPU was not followed by the police. District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) M Geetha has no idea about the case registered by the Fort police. “We will be informed through CWC in case of any incidents of child abuse. In this case, there was no communication. The police did not bring this issue to our notice,” said DCPO Geetha on Tuesday.

CWC also said that the police did not take up the issue with it till Wednesday evening. “It is mandatory to inform either DCPO or CWC if the police come across any such child abuse cases,” said CWC chairperson S Indiragandhi.

