Pocso case against 7 for stalking Union minister's daughter & friends at Maharashtra fair

NASHIK: Seven men allegedly stalked and harassed a Union minister's minor daughter and her friends during a visit to a village fair in Maharashtra's Jalgaon last Friday, brushing aside the constable escorting the girls when he demanded to check their mobile phones to confirm they hadn't secretly recorded videos.

One of the suspects was detained Sunday after police registered an FIR against all 7 men under Pocso Act and sections 75(1) (sexual harassment), 78(2) (stalking), 79 (outraging a woman's modesty), & 189(2) (unlawful assembly) of BNS.

"We are looking for the remaining suspects. They will be arrested soon," Muktainagar DSP Krishnakant Pingle said.

The minister, who was in Gujarat on the night of the fair, visited the police station to enquire about the progress of the investigation. "I went to the police station not in the capacity of a Union minister, but as a parent. The culprits bothered my daughter despite knowing that she is the daughter of an MP. One can only imagine what would have happened to other girls. I am pressing for strict action against culprits," he said.

Opposition latched onto the case as a reflection of 'deteriorating law and order in state under Mahayuti government, wondering how ordinary people can feel safe if criminals were able to harass a Union minister's daughter and her friends despite the presence of a police escort.

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule urged CM Devendra Fadnavis to review law and order and assure people that they would be safe: "Every girl who lives in the state is a daughter of Maharashtra. It is govt's duty to protect her."

Congress' Vijay Wadettiwar accused Mahayuti politicians of shielding criminals: "They may not be aware how much daughters of ordinary people struggle to protect themselves."

CM Fadnavis said suspects belonged to a political party that he didn't name. "Strict action will be taken against such people. They won't be spared," he said.

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