A 40-year-old man has been arrested by the Malwani police for sodomising a minor in Malad (West). The police said the accused is an auto-rickshaw driver who stays with his brother and friends in a rented room.

When his roommates were away at work on the night of January 15, the accused saw the 11-year-old minor nearby. "The accused and the survivor live in the same neighbourhood. On Tuesday night, he called the boy to his rented accommodation and sodomised him. The accused also gagged the minor. After the incident, the minor ran towards his house in pain," said an officer attached to Malwani police station where the case was registered under stringent Sections of POCSO and Sections 377 (unnatural sex), 363 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement) of IPC.