The Rachakonda police on Wednesday arrested two private detectives and a junior research fellow with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for allegedly stalking and trying to ‘assess the character’ of a minor girl pursuing her intermediate education at a junior college in Hyderabad.
The main accused was identified as 23-year-old D Mahesh Kumar. The police said that he had approached Scout Detective Agency, a private detective agency in the city. Following this, 39-year-old Kiran, the owner of the firm, and 33-year-old Suhasini were hired to check on the ‘character’ of the minor. Mahesh was interested in marrying the 16-year-old girl, the police said.
Speaking to reporters, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said that the duo regularly stalked the girl in the evening hours when she would return home after attending classes.
According to a press release from the police, the accused were asked to track the minor’s social media profiles, get her personal details and her phone number. They also captured photos and videos of the girl, without her knowledge; all these, for a sum of Rs 17,000.
They even attempted to ‘assess her character’. “Once, to understand her character, the detective made gestures with sexual intent, but she did not respond. It is illegal to gather the information of a minor girl without the consent of her parents,” the commissioner was quoted as saying.
Investigation officials said that the two accused even posed as parents of another student at the girl’s junior college and made enquiries about her. The parents of the minor were notified by the school management and they immediately filed a complaint.
The police then identified and arrested the three. A laptop, two mobile phones and documents from the detective agency were seized.
A case has been registered under Sections 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) read with 109 (Abetment) of the IPC along with Section 12 (Punishment for sexual harassment) read with section 17 (Punishment for abetment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.