Man held for raping one, molesting two minor girls in Delhi

A man has been arrested here for allegedly raping one minor girl and molesting two others last week, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Sunil Rastogi, 38, is a resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and allegedly raped one minor girl and molested two others -- aged between 9-10 years -- in east Delhi's New Ashok Nagar locality last week.

According to the police, three cases of child rape and molestation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were registered in New Ashok Nagar police station on January 10 and 13.

"During investigating, we found that the accused, a desperate paedophile, used to lure the minor girls on the pretext that their father had sent him to give them some clothes and articles. He then took his victims to isolated places, where he tried to rape them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Omvir Singh told IANS.

"Rastogi was arrested from his residence at Rampur in a police raid late on Saturday night. Police zeroed in on him after examining CCTV footage from the crime scenes," the DCP said.

The accused confessed to having sexually molested a number of minor girls in New Ashok Nagar, Ghaziabad and in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand. Several cases of molestation, theft and drug abuse were registered against him in various police stations in Rudrapur, Delhi and Ghaziabad, the DCP added.

Rastogi, who is a tailor by profession, is being interrogated to further ascertain his previous crimes, the officer said.

--IANS

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