UP: Man picked up little girls from outside their homes, raped them in forests; arrested

Bahraich (UP), Jul 7 (PTI) Villages near the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary here were visited by an unlikely night predator—a man who allegedly picked up girls as young as five while they are in deep sleep, took them away on his bicycle into the forests and raped them.

The villagers would find the girls missing the next day but they would be rescued by the evening with the help of police, an official said on Monday.

"Since June 25, police were getting reports from villages under Sujauli police station that someone was kidnapping girls aged 5-7 years from their homes while they are asleep between 3 am and 4 am," Superintendent of Police Ram Nayan Singh told reporters.

He allegedly targeted girls who slept outside the house due to the ongoing heat, sometimes even in the presence of parents.

On questioning the girls, police found out the man was young, about 25-30 years of age, with thinning hair and a tattoo on his hand, and was likely an alcoholic.

The SP said he allegedly showed porn to the girls on his phone and after carrying out the sexual assault, he would give them toffees or some snacks and buy them new clothes.

Four cases were registered and five teams were deployed, with Additional Superintendent of Police Durga Prasad Tiwari and Circle Officer Harshita Tiwari camped in the area to nab him.

Acting on a tip-off on Sunday, Avinash Pandey alias Simple, 32, was detained from the canal track near Sitaram culvert in Bajpur Bankati village and questioned.

He was arrested after his phones allegedly showed objectionable photos of minors.

The bicycle and two phones used by him have been recovered.

The SP said Pandey's actions were not like those of "a normal person".

"He deliberately made small girls his victims, so that they do not mention the incident to anyone and his name does not come up," he said.

"All four cases are being investigated. Clothes of the accused and the victims, the cycle on which he used to take the girls, both mobile phones and other evidence have been recovered from the crime scenes and the places mentioned by him," the officer said.

Police said sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 65(2) (punishment for rape in certain cases) and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the BNS and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been slapped against Pandey.

A cash reward of Rs 60,000 has been announced for the police teams that were involved in the probe, the SP said. PTI COR NAV SKY SKY