MALAPPURAM: A 37-year-old man was arrested on Friday for sexually abusing a four-and-a-half-year-old girl at an Islamic religious study centre at Ponnani. Ashok Kumar alias Abdul Rasak of Lokapur, Bagalkot, Karnataka, is the arrested. The police said the accused was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act based on a complaint lodged by the parents of the girl on February 18.
“The man, who converted to Islam from Hinduism, and the girl, along with her parents, had been living at the centre for the past few weeks. Ashok molested the girl after taking her to his room. Later, he fled to his native place and was reported absconding”, the police said.
The girl disclosed the matter to her parents, following which a complaint was filed at the Ponnani police station and the police launched a search for Ashok Kumar. Later, he was taken into custody from a hideout in Karnataka and was produced before the court and remanded.