Uttar Pradesh man arrested for sexually abusing over a dozen children

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a man in the state's Meerut district for allegedly sexually abusing more than a dozen children and teenagers and filming the act.

According to police sources here, the man, identified as Ajeet Singh, a resident of Surrorpur area in the district, was arrested after videos purporting to show the act went viral on social media.

The police had earlier filed a complaint in the matter after the videos were circulated online. According to sources, a police team raided Ajeet Singh's house late Monday night and arrested him.

According to police, the accused, who owned a grocery store in the village, offered the children cold drinks laced with alcohol and then abused them when they were drunk. He filmed the act and threatened to publish the videos if they told their parents about it.

The accused also blackmailed the victims by threatening to publish the videos, it was said. The accused had installed video surveillance

The case came to light after some videos of the alleged sexual assault were shared online. Police said that over a dozen cases of sexual assault on children and teenagers from the village have come to light so far.

“There could be more… we are reviewing the video footage… we have urged people to come forward and report if their children have been abused,” the officer said. The accused's cellphone was examined to see if he had deleted the videos and clips.

According to sources, parents of some victims were reluctant to contact the police because they were afraid of social stigma.