2 Arrested For Sexually Harassing 10-Year-Old By Sending Obscene Pictures

Mumbai police have arrested two persons from Thane district for allegedly sexually harassing a 10-year-old girl by sending obscene pictures and videos to her through social messaging platforms, an official said today.

The two accused had allegedly forced the minor to share her nude pictures and videos and threatened to kill her parents if she did not share the pictures, he said.

The accused have been identified as Sunny Bhajanlal Janiyani (29) and Ajay Tukaram Mhatre (30), both residents of Bhiwandi, police said.

The incident came to light Thursday, when the father of the girl approached the local police station with the complaint that two unidentified persons were sexually harassing his daughter through social messaging apps, he said.

"The girl's parents had provided a smartphone to her for online classes and studies. But when she logged onto her account on Snapchat app, she received obscene photos and videos from an unidentified person. The accused started sending pictures and videos repeatedly to her and also gave her number to his friend, who also did the thing on Snapchat and WhatsApp," he said.

The girl got scared, but did not tell anybody about it. However, the accused allegedly started forcing the girl to send her nude pictures and video and threatened to kill her parents if she did not send the pictures. After that, the girl told her parents about this, the official added.

DCP Datta Nalawade (Detection-1) said based on the complaint, police launched a probe and after technical analysis, the mobile number of one of the accused was traced to Bhiwandi.

"Accordingly a crime branch team led by police inspector Maheshkumar Thakur went to Bhiwandi and apprehended one of the accused and as per the information given by him, caught another one from Thane," he added.

It came to light that both the accused ran a business of cattle food supply, he said.

Both the accused were brought to Mumbai and handed over to the local police, following which they were placed under arrest, the official said.

An FIR under IPC sections 354(A) (sexual harassment), 354 (C) ((voyeurism), 354 (D) (stalking), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sections of the IT Act was registered against them, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)