The accused has been remanded in police custody till November 11. (Representational)
Gandhinagar district police in Gujarat today arrested a 26-year-old labourer for allegedly raping three minor girls, aged between three and seven years, and killing one of them within ten days, officials said.
The accused, Vijay Thakor, sexually assaulted his latest victim, a three-year-old girl, after killing her. He then dumped her body into a culvert, said Inspector General of Police, Gandhinagar range, Abhay Chudasama.
"The accused is married with a daughter. He has a perverted mentality, maybe due to his habit of watching porn. Till now, he has confessed to having raped three minor girls aged 3, 5, and 7 years and killing one of them. He has been remanded in police custody till November 11 for further investigation," Mr Chudasama told reporters in Gandhinagar.
Santej police in the Gandhinagar district had received a complaint from a woman labourer living near Rancharda village alleging that an unidentified man abducted her five-year-old daughter on November 4 and left her at a secluded place on the same day.
The girl's medical check-up confirmed that she was raped, Mr Chudasama said, adding that the Santej industrial area has several settlements of non-Gujarati industrial workers.
Two days later, Santej police received another complaint stating that a three-year-old girl had been abducted on the night of November 5 from a makeshift shanty near Khatraj crossroads.
After scanning CCTV footages and collecting information from locals, police zeroed in on Thakor, a casual labourer from Vansjada village in Kalol taluka, said Mr Chudasama.
"He confessed to having raped the five-year-old girl and also the three-year-old girl," the Inspector General said.
He said Thakor killed the three-year-old girl because she was shouting too much and then raped her before dumping her body in a culvert. The body has been recovered by the police, he added.
Mr Chudasama said the accused had lured the five-year-old victim by offering to buy her new clothes. In the second case, Thakor entered the hut of the three-year-old girl when everyone was asleep in the night and kidnapped her, he said.
"During interrogation, Thakor confessed to having raped a 7-year-old girl around ten days back in the same area. He had first snatched the girl's mobile phone forcing her to follow him. He then abducted her and raped her. A detailed investigation about Thakor's criminal past is on," said the Inspector General.