The accused lured the girl living in the same area with chocolates, police said (Representational)
A 70-year-old man allegedly attempted to rape a seven-year-old girl at his home in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, police said Monday, adding that he has been arrested.
The alleged attempt to rape was foiled due to a vigilant local who had followed the man luring the girl with chocolates to his residence in the Gwaltoli area of the city on Friday, they said.
Maulana Mukhtar alias Maulana chacha was arrested on Sunday, a police officer said.
"The accused lured the girl living in the same area with chocolates and toffees. He then took her to his house where he attempted rape," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Central Kanpur) Dinesh Tripathi said.
A local who had seen the culprit going with the girl sensed danger and followed them, Tripathi said adding that he then peeped into the house through a window and captured him on camera while stripping the girl and himself.
The person immediately called all the neighbours and exposed Mukhtar, Tripathi added.
The neighbours alerted the police but the accused quickly fled the spot before they arrived, the DCP said.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he was arrested, police said.
Mukhtar on Monday was produced in a local court which has remanded him in judicial custody, police added.
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