20-year-old held for raping minor girl in Ghaziabad was out on bail in similar case

A 20-year-old man was arrested for raping a four-and-a-half year old girl under the jurisdiction of Masuri police station in Ghaziabad

A 20-year-old man, arrested for raping a four-and-a-half year old girl under the jurisdiction of Masuri police station in Ghaziabad on Friday, has been found to be a repeat offender.

The man was out on bail in connection with a sexual assault case in 2015. (Representative image)

The accused, identified as Ankit, was nabbed after the victim told her family about the incident and also named him. Ankit, who was out on bail in connection with a sexual assault case in 2015, was arrested and jailed on Friday.

The accused lives with his maternal grandparents in Ghaziabad, but is originally from nearby Hapur district.

Police said the incident took place around 9pm on Thursday when Ankit allegedly lured the minor girl who was playing outside her house, took her to a vacant plot nearby and raped her.

“When she went missing, we launched a thorough search in the area. A woman in our neighbourhood said my daughter was lying unconscious at a nearby vacant plot, adjacent to a school. We rushed her to a hospital. When she regained consciousness, she told us the name of the accused,” the girl’s father said. Following this, local residents handed him over to the police.

According to the police, Ankit is a repeat offender and has targeted minor girls earlier too. In October 2015, he was arrested by Masuri police for allegedly assaulting a two-year-old girl and was booked under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC and provisions of Pocso Act.

According to the police, in that case, he had allegedly targeted the sister of his friend and had taken her to a local shop at night to buy candies. Later, he handed over the unconscious girl to her brother. Upon examination, she was found to have been subjected to an unnatural assault. Ankit was thrashed by residents and handed over to police. He was out on bail in that case, but yet again targeted another minor girl on Thursday night.

“In the 2015 incident, he tried to prove himself as minor, but he was around 18 years old. He got bail, which gave way to the second incident on Thursday night,” Yadav said.