Delhi Police looks for serial rapists' footprints beyond Delhi

Looking to unearth serial rapist Sunil Rastogi's involvement in cases of sexual assault outside the national capital, Delhi Police has urged law enforcers in the neighbouring states to reopen unsolved cases in the last one year, an officer said on Wednesday.

The states contacted are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana.

After failing to find fresh complaints of such cases against Rastogi in Delhi, the investigators now have asked police in these states to connect with the families of victims of similar cases.

"We have asked police in these states to give details of the unsolved cases similar to the ones involving Rastogi reported in the last one year," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Omvir Singh Bishnoi told IANS.

"We are constantly in touch with police forces of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana to establish Rastogi's previous crimes with minor girls.

"There is a general apprehension that some victims' parents have not come forward to file complaints against Rastogi," said the officer.

While Rastogi has admitted to have targeted more than 50 girls in Delhi alone, they have till now verified only 15 cases, he said.

"Police teams have contacted the victims in three other cases reported from East Delhi and requested them to register a police complaint, so as to prepare a strong chargesheet.

"We will seek his police custody only if we have strong charges against him. Until now, no one has approached police to file a complaint against Rastogi," Bishnoi said.

A tailor by profession, Rastogi, 38, hails from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and was arrested on January 14. He has confessed to preying on girls since 2004, when he was 26.

Rastogi first admitted to raping at least 13 girls, but later claimed he has targeted over 50 but could not rape all of them.

Randomly scouting for victims, he would travel to Delhi at least twice a month to satisfy his lust.

Police have also sought the details of paedophiles lodged within the last one year in seven jails in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The reports confirmed his involvement in seven cases. Four of the seven cases were reported from Delhi, one from Haldwani in Uttarakhand and two from Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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