India, April 8 -- A nine-year-old girl who studied at a private school in Adarsh Nagar was sexually assaulted over a period of one-and-a-half years by the van driver who brought her back home from the institute every afternoon, Delhi Police said on Monday.

The accused, a 35-year-old resident of Mukundpur, was arrested on Sunday, additional deputy commissioner of police (north) Nithya Radhakrishnan confirmed. HT is not naming the accused as his name could be used to identify the minor victim.

A senior officer probing the case said the matter came to light on April 3, when the girl, a Class 4 student, confided to her mother that she had been sexually assaulted. After a brief consultation within the family, the mother approached police to ...