A 50-year-old man accused of raping a minor girl and sexually harassing two other minor girls, was arrested by the Phase 1 police on Wednesday. The accused, Ramesh Chauhan, a labourer, had allegedly lured the victims to his house to commit the crime by offering them cake. The incident allegedly took place on Monday afternoon, when the victims were playing near the residence of the accused. The accused will be produced in the court on Thursday. “He covered the eyes of two victims aged 3 years and 7 years, while he raped the third victim aged 10. The accused was alone at his home when the incident occurred,” a police officer said. The police officers told Chandigarh Newsline that Ramesh’s wife had left him a few months ago and at the time of the crime, the accused was alone at his house. The accused had allegedly kept the victims at his house for over three hours and threatened them with dire consequences if they disclosed the incident to their families. Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Lakhwinder Singh said that the accused was booked under the Sections 354 (outraging modesty of a woman) and 376 (rape) of the IPC and the relevant Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.” “Medical examination of one of the victims confirmed rape,” Inspector Lakhwinder told Newsline.
