Police have arrested a man from Bhiwandi taluka in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly molesting a five-year-old girl by offering her sweets, an official said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Kongaon village on Thursday afternoon, when the victim was playing outside her residence.

"The 22-year-old accused, identified as Mohammad Arju Badrealam Shah, approached the minor and offered her sweets while she was playing. He then touched her inappropriately. Scared, she ran to her mother and narrated the incident. Soon, people nabbed and thrashed him," an official said.

A complaint was later lodged, on the basis of which a case under section 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against the accused, and he was arrested, the police said.

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