IAS officer in Pune arrested for raping, molesting 4 minor girls

Pune: A 58-year-old IAS officer has been arrested for allegedly raping and molesting four minor girls, police on Friday said. M H Sawant, the Director General of Maharashtra Council of Agricultural Education and Research, lived in Shivajinagar area of Pune and sometimes visited his father-in-law's flat near a school at Hingane Khurd. Sawant used to lure the school girls, who would come to play in the housing society's parking lot, by offering money and chocolates, Singhad Road police station inspector Balwant Kashid said.

The accused used to show them obscene content on his computer before sexually assaulting them, he said. The victims, all below 10 years of age, recently informed about the offence to their school counsellor, who forwarded the complaint to school headmistress. The school then took the help of a local corporator and his wife to inform the police about the matter. Subsequently, Sawant was arrested on Thursday and taken to Sassoon hospital for medical examination, Kashid said.

"We have filed a case against him under sections 376 (rape) and 354 (molestation) of IPC, sections 6, 8 and 10 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 67(a),(b) of Information Technology Act," the inspector said.

The accused will be produced in a court later on Friday. Further investigation was on in the case, he added.