House painter held for sexually assaulting 7-year-old girl in Delhi's Nehru Vihar

New Delhi: A house painter was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl in Delhi's northeast, police said on Friday.

More than 250 CCTV footage was scanned and criminal dossiers were analysed to identify the suspect, they said.

On April 3, a complaint was lodged alleging that an unidentified man lured the girl to a hose in Gali Number 11 of Nehru Vihar area and inappropriately touched her, they said.

He then fled the scene upon hearing footsteps, according to the complaint police said.

A case was registered under Section 137(2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

Police said a team was formed who scanned CCTV footage and gathered local intelligence. After obtaining a photo of the suspect, criminal-records were cross-checked and the accused was identified as 35-year-old Danish, a house painter from New Kardampuri.

During interrogation, he initially tried to mislead investigators but later confessed to the crime, they added. Police revealed he had a prior history of similar offenses, with a case registered against him at Jafrabad Police Station. Further investigation is underway.