Police arrest 48 year old cleric for allegedly raping minor girl inside mosque in northeast delhi

New Delhi: A 48-year-old cleric has been arrested by the police for raping a 12-year-old minor girl who went to get water at a mosque in North-East Delhi. Police arrested Maulvi, a resident of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, from Loni district of Ghaziabad on Monday morning.

"The accused has been booked under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act," the police said. The cleric was produced in a court, from where he has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Police said that the accused lives in Ghaziabad's Loni district and is the father of four children. This incident happened on Sunday evening. The girl returned home and narrated her ordeal to her parents. The girl's parents lodged a complaint with the police that their daughter had gone to the mosque to fetch water, where the cleric allegedly raped her.

According to the police, the girl was counseled and after that she was taken for medical examination. According to the police, policemen have been deployed around the mosque as locals had reached there to protest.