Police arrests orphanage head for molesting 8-year-old inmate in UP’s Bareilly

The head of an orphanage has been arrested for allegedly molesting an eight-year-old inmate of the establishment here, police said on Sunday.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Kotwali police station Dharmendra Kumar Singh said the orphanage staff had complained that the establishment’s head had touched the girl inappropriately on July 31.

The girl had informed the orphanage’s warden as well as her elder sister, living in the same establishment, about the molestation, the police officer said.

A case has been registered against the orphanage’s head, Omkar Arya (39), under the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SHO said, adding the accused has been arrested. Singh said the orphanage’s managing committee had received a complaint about the matter shortly after the incident. It will be probed as to why the committee remained silent and did not inform the police immediately, he said.

The girl visited the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bareilly, along with the warden on Saturday. On the SSP’s instructions, the Kotwali police registered the FIR on Saturday night.