Thiruvananthapuram: Waiter molests minor customer, arrested

Thiruvananthapuram: A waiter at a restaurant was arrested on Thursday for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl who visited the restaurant along with her parents. Peroorkada police identified the accused as Ahammed Nishad, 20, of  Mangalore in Karnataka. He was booked under Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The incident happened when the parents and two daughters stepped into the restaurant and sat at a table to dine in the evening. The waiter approached the family and asked them to sit at another table as it was larger and could accommodate all of them. The husband and wife moved to the larger table and when the wife turned back to see if her mother and children were following, saw the waiter holding her little daughter and kissing her in the mouth forcefully. She walked towards him and blasted him.

However, he smiled at her and said sorry while walking away to the next customer nonchalantly. Her husband walked to the counter and reported it to the manager. They walked out of the restaurant and her husband complained to the police. The police said that the accused, who was recruited just two months ago from Mangalore, could speak in Kannada and Malayalam.He was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.

The restaurant management on Thursday tendered a public apology to the family through their social media page.

They also claimed that soon after the incident they demanded an explanation from the accused. As the explanation was found unsatisfactory, they terminated him from service with immediate effect. They have also offered to cooperate with the police probe by providing the surveillance camera footage in the restaurant.