Pilibhit, May 16 (IANS): An eight-year-old girl was allegedly molested by her 17-year-old cousin in a village under the Barkhera police circle in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district when she was visiting her grandmother in the same village, police said.

The incident came to light later that day when the victim narrated the ordeal to her mother.

The matter was reported to the police late on Monday night following which an FIR was lodged in the matter and the accused was arrested.

The victim's father said in his written complaint that the accused, a resident of another village, was already present at the house of the girl's grandmother when she reached there.

"He offered a packet of snacks to my daughter and asked her to count from 1 to 100. He then molested her. My daughter was extremely scared and she rushed back to our house and told us," he added.

Station House Officer Udaiveer Singh, said, "The accused was booked under IPC section 354-A (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), and appropriate sections of the POCSO Act. The accused's father claimed that he was a minor, however, we have asked him to produce the evidence. In case he is a minor, he would be produced before the juvenile justice board."