Manipur Police arrest non-local cobbler for sexually assaulting minor

Imphal: Manipur police arrested a non-local cobbler on the charge of sexually assaulting a minor girl student at a rented house in Uripok assembly constituency in Imphal West district, officials reported on Friday.

The alleged accused has been identified as one Girish Kumar Das (43), a native of Begusarai Phulwaria, Bihar, currently staying in a rented house at Uripok, Imphal.

GK Das, son of Shanker Das, was arrested by a team from the Imphal police station at his rented house on August 17.

An arrest was made based on the complaint lodged by the mother of the victim, the police reported. According to a complaint filed with the police by the victim's mother, on 17 August, late afternoon, her daughter, a school-going student, went to the rented room of the accused to get her school bag repaired by the accused.

A few minutes later, her daughter came running back, crying and visibly frightened. When asked, the victim stated that the accused had sexually assaulted her. 

The police said that during preliminary interrogation, the accused admitted to the charges levelled against him, and legal proceedings have been started after producing the accused before a court in Imphal on Thursday.

The Court of Special Judge Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Imphal West remanded GK Das to judicial custody till September 4 for smooth investigation of the case.

Police stated that, as per a directive from the Supreme Court of India, the name of the victim has been concealed.