A 41-year-old man was arrested in Bengaluru for sexually assaulting his three-and-a-half-year-old stepdaughter.

The arrest was made based on a complaint filed by the girl’s mother. The family from Kerala has been living in Bengaluru for long, and he was working as a software engineer. Reports say that the girl’s mother had married the accused in April and the incident happened in the same month.

The girl’s mother explained the delay in filing complaint and said that she wanted her daughter to first recover before she moved legally against her husband. 

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, the girl’s mother said that her husband took the girl to the terrace on April 17, in the pretext of playing with her.

"On the same night, we left for Kerala. My daughter was constantly crying and wouldn't sleep. We couldn't understand her odd behaviour. It seemed like she was trying to tell us something about my husband, but as we didn't suspect him for anything, we let it go. The bruises and swelling on her private parts, we assumed, were the result of getting hurt while playing," she was quoted as saying.

After probing further as her daughter’s odd behaviour persisted, the mother said that she was ‘shattered’ to learn what had happened. She also recalled how her husband had dissuaded her from seeking medical assistance for her daughter.