KARUR: The Karur district police arrested a 23-year-old man under POCSO Act for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl who was playing near her house in Karur on Saturday night.
The suspect was a resident of Kazhukoor village in Mahalipatti panchayat. Thogaimalai police booked him under POCSO Act and BNS 87 (kidnapping, abduction or inducing a woman for illicit intercourse).
The man was returning from a liquor shop on his motorcycle around 5 pm on Saturday when he saw the girl playing in the front yard of her house and abducted her, police said. While the the girl’s parents started searching for her, the suspect, unaware of the search, allegedly returned to the same spot drop her back. Locals who spotted him alerted the Thogamalai police. It was revealed during interrogation that he had deceived and abducted the girl. He was later arrested.
Following the incident, residents of S Valayapatti, Rakkampatti, and Sangayipatti staged a road blockade demanding the closure of the Tasmac functioning in the area.
They alleged that the customers frequenting the liquor shop were creating ruckus and causing inconvenience to the residents. Police assured protestors that the outlet will be shut, following which the protest was withdrawn.