Mumbai: The POCSO court has rejected the bail application of a 30-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting his 9-year-old stepdaughter. The case was registered at Kopri police station (Thane East) under various sections of the BNS, 2023, and the POCSO Act, who had been in a live-in relationship with the girl's mother for nine years. They also have a 5-year-old daughter, and the mother has two elder sons from a previous marriage.

The incident occurred on September 15, 2024, when the girl was allegedly assaulted while her mother and brother were away. She reported the assault to her mother the same day. Although the mother submitted a no objection statement regarding the bail application.

The POCSO court noted that releasing to accused will pose a risk to the victim's safety, said Nishikant Karlikar, as per a report by The Times of India.

A similar case happened at Virar East

The accused was arrested for the alleged rape of three minor girls at Virar East, including two sisters several times in the month.

As per the reports by the Virar police station, the 13-year-old girl came forward about the accused neighbour being several times sexually assaulted. The girl revealed the name of the accused man who had assaulted her on the night of January 1, 2024, and continued this abuse to her and her 14-year-old sister including a 17-year-old neighbour.

The Virar police station registered the case of the accused under the (POCSO) Act and the relevant sections of the Indian penal code.