A 42-year-old man was arrested on Monday night on charges of sexually assaulting two minor girls — aged 12 and 9 — while attending a wedding in Ghaziabad on Sunday. The accused is related to both girls, police said. While the initial complaint said both girls were raped, medical examination ruled out rape in the case of the 9-year-old, police said. According to police, even after the alleged crime, the man attended at the wedding, thinking it unlikely that the girls would report the matter. But the girls identified the accused after going through videos taken at the wedding, following which police arrested him. The accused is a resident of Khurja in Bulandshahr district. Deputy Superintendent of Police Ranvijay Singh said the man lured the two girls out, drove them to an isolated spot and raped the 12-year-old. “He told the girls that they needed to get some clothes for the bride and asked them to come along. He put them in his car and drove to a secluded spot,” he said. Police said he brought the girls back to the venue and threatened them against revealing the incident to others. But girls told their parents, who reported the matter to police. A case was lodged under Section 376 of the IPC and the POCSO Act. Even though the complaint alleged that both girls were raped, medical examination ruled out rape in the case of the 9-year-old. “After the incident came to our notice, we procured video recordings of the wedding. The girls went through the footage and identified the accused,” Ranvijay Singh said. Police said the video recording also shows the girls leaving the venue with the accused.
