UP horror: 19-year-old school dropout who raped 3 minor girls in a week held

MEERUT: A 19-year-old youth was arrested for allegedly raping three minor girls, aged 8-10 years, in a week, police in Saharanpur said on Friday. The accused, a school dropout, would lure the girls away on his motorcycle by offering sweets and violate them.Saharanpur SP (Rural) Sagar Jain said families of the three rape survivors filed complaints on Oct 25 and 29, stating that an unknown biker had taken their daughters into the nearby forests and violated them. "Acting on the complaints, police examined around 60 CCTV cameras and identified the accused. There was symmetry in all the three cases, which indicated that the same person might be involved. The accused was arrested from his house on Thursday, and he confessed that he had sexually assaulted the three minors," said Jain.The SP said the accused would roam around in the evenings looking for minor girls and would approach them on the pretext of asking for directions and lure them with sweets. After assaulting the girls, he would drop them back near their houses.Police said the victims belong to poor families and live in the same locality. "They are medically stable and are being counselled by the Mission Shakti team of Saharanpur police," Jain said.A case under BNS sections 137 (2) (kidnapping), 74 & 75 (2) (sexual harassment) and 7/8 of Pocso Act has been registered against the accused. "He was produced in court and sent to jail. We will support a speedy trial so that the accused is convicted early," the SP said.