Man arrested in Kota for molesting minor girl by scaring her with ‘pet’ cobra

Police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly molesting a minor girl by scaring her with a cobra he kept illegally at his home, and cheating people, officials said.

Police have seized the cobra and counterfeit Indian currency notes valued at Rs 7.20 lakh from his possession in Rajasthan’s Kota, they said.

Mohammed Imran (29), a native of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, lived with his wife in a rented accommodation under the Railway Colony police station area, the officials said.

On Sunday, a victim lodged a complaint against Imran at the Railway Colony police station, alleging that the accused molested his minor niece, filmed vulgar videos with her, and duped her father of Rs 1.36 lakh, Kota City SP Amrita Duhan said.

The complainant also accused Imran of keeping a cobra in his room to frighten women and girls before molesting them and to cheat people.

Imran was produced before a court on Wednesday, which sent him to police remand till May 23.

Imran has been booked under the relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, BNS, Information Technology (IT) Act, and Wildlife Protection Act, the SP said.

His wife Asmeen (25) has also been booked under the POCSO Act and IT Act though she has not been arrested yet, she added.

A team of forest officials was called in to rescue the cobra from the accused’s room. According to the SP, the accused also worked as a quack and claimed to treat people with medicinal plants.

The complainant came across Imran’s illegal acts when he happened to check his mobile phone, in which he found objectionable videos of his niece with the accused. When he asked her niece, she revealed her ordeal, police said.

She said Imran would threaten to kill her with the cobra if she disclosed her ordeal to anyone else, Railway police station SHO Ramswroop said.

Asmeen would shoot his husband’s acts with the minor girl with a mobile phone, the SHO said.

Rajasthan