In a revelation that left the Delhi Police in shock, a 38-year-old man arrested for attempting to molest two minors confessed that he had sexually abused around 500 kids almost unchecked over a period of 12 years.
Times of India, in its report, quoted police saying that the paedophile Sunil Rastogi, a tailor from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, claimed to have attempted assault on more than 2,500 minors during this period and was jailed for six months in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, for an offence in 2006.
Rastogi preyed on victims in Delhi, west UP and Uttarakhand, and targeted girls, mostly aged between 7 and 11 years, who were walking home from school.
Delhi Police have now booked Rastogi to six cases, three in Delhi, two in Rudrapur and one is Bilaspur district.
In 2004, he and his family were thrashed and forced to leave Mayur Vihar after he tried to assault a neighbour’s daughter.
The countdown to Rastogi’s arrest began on December 13 when a 10-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on her way back from school. The child did not complain about it till her parents got suspicious of her behaviour and counselled her.
While the police launched a search to nab him based on the description given by the child, another case of two children being abducted in a similar way was reported at the New Ashok Nagar police station on January 12.
Sunil Rastogi was arrested yesterday on the basis of tip off, DCP(East) Omvir Singh said.
"The accused told police that he used to target minor girls. Whenever he would find any minor girl going to home from school, he used to mislead her on the pretext that her father had sent some clothes or some other articles to give her and take her to an isolated place," he added.
The accused works as a tailor and is married with five children, including three girls, said another officer, adding that his daughters are being counselled to know whether he had also targeted them.
On January 10, two cases of kidnapping were registered in New Ashok Nagar police station wherein complainants alleged a man misled their daughters, aged 10 and 9, said the officer.
The accused allegedly took them on the stairs of a building and fled when they raised an alarm, he said.
A team under inspector CR Meena, SHO, New Ashok Nagar police station, and ACP (Kalyanpuri) Rahul Alwal took up the investigation.
CCTV footages from cameras installed near the places of incidents were obtained and some images of the accused were developed, said Singh.
During interrogation, he confessed he committed the alleged offences and also revealed he committed similar offences with other girls in New Ashok Nagar, Delhi, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), and Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), said the officer.
It has also been revealed from interrogation that many cases including under NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) and of theft and molestation were registered against the accused at various police stations in Rudrapur, Delhi and Ghaziabad.
Rastogi is a permanent resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and came to Delhi in 1990 with his family and left Delhi in 2004.
"He resides in Rudrapur now. He studied up to fifth standard at government school in his village. He is being interrogated regarding other offences committed by him at different places," added the officer.
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