Meghalaya Man Arrested For Sexually Assaulting 7-Year-Old Granddaughter

Guwahati: A 60-year-old man has been arrested in Meghalaya's North Garo Hills on charges of molesting his own granddaughter who is only seven.

Though the incident happened on April 10, the girl's family approached the police on Wednesday after which a First Information Report (FIR) was filed and the accused Denyson Marak arrested from his village Kama Gandim, police said.

The case has been filed under the Prevention of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Police are awaiting the medical examination report of the girl.

"The accused has been arrested, we are interrogating him.  The medical examination report of the victim will ascertain what has really happened," said Dalton Marak, Superintendent of Police (SP), North Garo Hills.

The FIR alleges that the girl was sexually assaulted three times by her grandfather at his home but could not remember the dates of the first two incidents.

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The girl and her parents had fallen out with the accused more than a year ago and were living separately.

The minor used to take tuitions from a private tutor who lived near her grandfather's house where the girl kept her books.

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Around 3 pm on that day, when the girl had gone to take her books from her grandfather's house, the accused locked the door from inside and sexually assaulted her, said Jayne Sangma, a woman's rights activist who is overseeing the case.

The incident comes at a time when there is nationwide outrage over a spate of rapes of minors in Kathua, Unnao and Surat.

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Last month, an 11-year-old was raped and burnt alive in Assam's Nagaon district, allegedly by a fellow village after which an entire village came together to help the police catch the accused within 72 hours.