ALMORA: Four youths — all in their twenties — were booked under the Pocso Act after they were allegedly found with a minor girl in a hotel room. The incident took place in the Dwarahat town of Almora on Friday.
According to police, the girl, who hailed from a village in Almora, had met one of the accused on a social media platform. After days of online chatting, the two decided to meet each other in a Dwarahat hotel. However, the accused also brought three of his friends along with him.
On suspicion, the hotel owner informed police. Subsequently, the four accused — all residents of Kaliyar (Haridwar) — were nabbed and the girl was rescued. Later in the day, a case was registered against the four accused after the father of the girl approached police.
Ajay Sah, Dwarahat police station in-charge, told TOI, “The accused have been booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and section 7/8 (sexual assault) of the Pocso Act.”
Meanwhile, several right-wing groups dubbed the incident as a “Love Jihaad” attempt and demanded strict action against the four accused who belonged to a different community than the minor.
