Another despicable incident adding to the sorry state of females’ safety in India emerged on Friday, where a man attached to a school bus as a driver allegedly sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl in Navi Mumbai, police said. The police have now arrested the accused, as per a report by news agency PTI. The incident, according to police, unfolded in the Kamothe area of the city, police officials said.

As per police, the culprit used to drive a private bus which transported students from a local kindergarten and a primary school.

Minor assaulted on Wednesday

Police learnt that at around 12:30 pm on September 2 (Wednesday), the driver was dropping off the kids to their homes. After the other students alighted, a 3-year-old girl was left alone on the bus. Leveraging the circumstances, the driver allegedly assaulted the girl sexually, police said.

Upon reaching home, the survivor complained of abdominal pain and narrated about the abuse to her grandmother. The family alerted the school management about the same and lodged a police complaint thereafter.

Driver booked, held under POCSO Act

A police official familiar with the development said that post-complaint, the driver was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Subsequently, the police collared him and produced him in a court in Panvel on Thursday, which remanded him to police custody till Saturday, September 5, the official added.