Mumbai Crime: Serial sex offender assaults two minor girls, held

Vakola police have arrested a 22-year-old man, for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls in a row. Police have arrested the accused, who is a habitual sexual offender and had been arrested earlier also in molestation cases. According to the police, the accused (name with held to protect the identity of the victims) on Thursday afternoon lured a nine year-old-girl with Rs 5 in the Gamdevi area in Vakola. He then took the girl in a shanty and undressed her. While he was sexually assaulting the girl, she shouted and somehow managed to escape.

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The accused then roamed around in the area and after some time again lured another girl, this time an 11-year-old, and took her to the shanty. Meanwhile, the first girl reached home and on being coaxed by her mother narrated her entire ordeal. "The first girl took her mother to the place of offense. The mother of first girl caught the accused while he was sexually assaulting the other girl. Due to sudden entry of the woman, the accused panicked. The woman raised an alarm and tried to gather locals, but the accused managed to escape from the spot," said inspector BM Salunkhe of Vakola police station.

After police were informed a manhunt was launched for the accused. He was arrested later in the night by the police. Probe revealed that the accused is a serial sexual offender. He had been arrested in past in molestation cases, the police said. The accused has been charged with sections of rape and unnatural act of Indian Penal Code and also with the stringent sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

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