Latur: Altaf Qureshi booked under sections of the SC/ST and POCSO Act for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl; a manhunt launched to capture him

Representative Image- India Today

In a horrific case reported from Deoni district of Maharashtra’s Latur district, a 6-year-old minor girl has been brutally assaulted by an individual identified as Altaf Mehboob Qureshi. As per the complaint copy obtained by OpIndia, the accused sexually assaulted the minor for 4 continuous days and also threatened her to keep her mouth shut.

Altaf has been booked by the state police under sections 376AB, 376(2)n, 377, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, sections 3(1)(w)(i), 3(2), 3(v) of the SC-ST Act, and sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The incident is said to have happened in the Walandi village of Latur district.

FIR copy obtained by OpIndia

As per the FIR copy, the accused stayed in the victim’s neighbourhood. The mother of the victim works as a labourer in the nearby village. In the absence of her, the accused is said to have taken the victim to his house and abused her sexually. He also threatened the girl to death and asked her to keep her mouth shut.

The mother of the victim mentioned in the complaint that the accused sexually abused the girl from 15th January to 19th January. However, the incident came to the fore on 20th January after the girl arrived home from her school.

“She returned home that day at around 3 pm. After some time, Altaf who stays in the neighbourhood came to call her to accompany him to a local store. I allowed. However, the girl started crying aloud and refused to go with Altaf. Initially, I didn’t understand anything. Later, I took my daughter into confidence and asked her the reason. Then she revealed to me what Altaf did to her,” the mother said.

Enraged by the incident, locals have demanded strict action against the accused. The accused is believed to have absconded since the incident and the police are looking into the case. Further investigations into the case are underway.

Siddhi Somani: Siddhi Somani is known for her satirical and factual hand in Economic, Social and Political writing. Having completed her post graduation in Journalism, she is pursuing her Masters in Politics. The author meanwhile is also exploring her hand in analytics and statistics. (Twitter- @sidis28)