Caught On Camera: Elderly Shopkeeper Molests 10-Yr-Old Girl Who Had Come To Buy Household Goods In UP’s Sitapur

In a shocking incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur, an elderly shopkeeper was caught on camera molesting a 10-year-old girl who had come to his shop to buy household goods on Tuesday afternoon.

In the purported video of the incident, the elderly man can be seen touching the minor girl indecently.

Watch the video here: 

Accused booked under POCSO, SC/ST Act

As per reports, as soon as the video of the incident surfaced on social media, Sitapur police took cognizance of the matter and arrested the accused, identified as 70-year-old Mohd Anwar under the POCSO and SC/ST Act after a complaint by the girl’s mother.

“In the incident of molestation of a girl on 3.4.24, a case number 410/24 under sections 74 BNS, 9m/10 POCSO Act, 3 (1)(w)( i), 3 (2)( va) SC / ST Act has been registered at Hargaon and the accused Anwar Khan son of Akbar Khan, resident of Tarapatpur police station village, district Sitapur, age about 70 years has been arrested,” Sitapur police wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, as Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich grapples with wolf terror, an expert has said the series of attacks on the residents of Mehsi tehsil might be due to wolves "seeking revenge" for possible habitat loss or killing of their cubs.

Wolf attacks on humans, including children, have been taking place in Bahraich since March but they saw a spike from July 17 onwards during the rainy season.

Till September 2, eight people, including seven children, have died in these attacks while about 36, including women, children and elderly, have been injured.

Gyan Prakash Singh, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) and a former forest officer at Katarniaghat Wildlife Division of Bahraich district, said wolves, unlike other predatory animals, have a tendency to seek revenge.

"On the basis of my experience, I can say that wolves have a tendency to take revenge. In the past, humans must have caused some kind of harm to their cubs due to which these attacks are happening as revenge," Singh, who is serving as an adviser to the Wildlife Trust of India after retirement, told PTI.

Around 25 years ago, more than 50 children were killed by wolves in the basin area of the Sai river in Jaunpur and Pratapgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Meanwhile, Devipatan's Divisional Commissioner Shashi Bhushan Lal Sushil said if the man-eating wolves are not caught and their attacks continue, as a last resort, orders will be issued to shoot them.

The Devipatan division includes the districts of Gonda, Balrampur, Bahraich, and Shravasti.