Hostel chief near Mumbai held for allegedly molesting inmates
A 35-year-old man running a hostel in Palghar, 100 kms from Mumbai, has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two of its inmates since December. According to one of the girls, he would call them to his office at night on the pretext of receiving calls from home, and force them to strip. He would show them porn and talk to them obscenely.
Accused had threatened the victims of failing them in exams
Cops said the accused, Suryakant Bagal, would threaten the girls about giving them poor marks in internals if they shared this with anyone. The incident came to light when one of them finally wrote a letter to her cousin, who then shared it with her parents. The parents reached the hostel on Friday and thrashed Bagal before handing him over to police.
Police probing if Bagal molested any other inmate
"We arrested Bagal under IPC Section 354 (molestation). He is also charged under the POCSO and the Tribal Atrocity Act," said DSP Sachin Pandkar. Twelve girls stay in the government hostel run under the Integrated Tribal Development Project, Dahanu. All are preparing for their class 10 exams. Police, who have received two complaints, are now investigating if "Bagal molested any other girl."
