The Kempegowda International Airport Limited (KIAL) police on Tuesday arrested a 51-year-old man for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl on a flight. The arrested has been identified as Ammawasai Murugesan, from Tamil Nadu.
Murugesan is employed as a public relations officer at a private firm in Doha, Qatar. According to the complaint filed by the girl’s father, he, along with his wife and daughter, were travelling to Bengaluru from Doha on Tuesday night.
The girl, a resident of Bengaluru, was sitting next to the Murugesan, who was on seat 6F. During the journey, Murugesan started conversing with the girl under the pretext of asking her if she needed food, water or anything else. Initially, the girl’s mother thought that he was behaving socially with her daughter and told him that the girl did not need anything.
Murugesan continued to talk to the girl and touched her inappropriately. The mother saw him touching her daughter’s private parts and immediately alerted her husband, who then alerted the cabin crew and the girl was made to sit in another seat.
Murugesan was detained by the crew. After the flight landed at the airport in the early hours of Wednesday, he was handed over to the security staff. The father filed a complaint with the KIAL police.
Murugesan was arrested under provisions of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He was produced in court and has been remanded to judicial custody.
Murugesan was scheduled to go to Tamil Nadu from Bengaluru. A senior police officer said Murugesan has claimed innocence.
Published 30 June 2023, 13:45 IST