'Habitual offender' held for sexually assaulting 2 minor girls

A 32-year-old man was arrested today after he allegedly sexually assaulted two six-year-old girls in suburban Andheri, the police said.

The accused, identified as Dinesh Panchal, is a habitual offender and had allegedly sexually assaulted a minor girl in 2015, a senior police officer said.

He is currently out on bail in the 2015 case, he said.

Panchal allegedly lured the girls, residents of Sahar village in Andheri (east), under the pretext of offering them chocolates and biscuits, and sexually assaulted them at a secluded spot, according to the officer.

The girls narrated the ordeal to their parents, following which a complaint was lodged at Sahar police station.

Police said the medical tests conducted on the girls have confirmed the sexual assault.

Panchal has been booked under section 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC and under relevant sections of POCSO ACT, he said.

He was produced before a court, which sent him in the police custody till Monday.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)