Delhi tailor says he sexually abused 500 children over 12 years

Suspect confesses to luring young girls with promise of new clothes

Police in Delhi have set up a special investigations team to look for other victims. They suspect that many of his crimes have gone unreported. (Getty)

A 38-year-old tailor in New Delhi has confessed to sexually abusing around 500 children over a period of 12 years, police have said.

Sunil Rastogi, who allegedly targeted girls aged between seven and 10, claimed he tried to assault more than 2,500 children in that time, police said.

Mr Rastogi reportedly preyed on the young girls when they were walking home from school in areas of Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"The accused told police that he used to target minor girls. Whenever he would find any minor girl going to home from school, he used to mislead her on the pretext that her father had sent some clothes or some other articles to give her and take her to an isolated place," deputy police commissioner Omvir Singh Bishnoi said.

Delhi Police are investigating six cases – three in Delhi, two in the northern city of Rudrapur and one in the central Bilaspur district – which they believe are linked to Mr Rastogi.

He was caught after he allegedly attempted to assault a nine and ten-year-old girl, whom he had lured below the stairs of a construction site with the promise of new clothes, police said. He then fled after the girls resisted, but was caught when he was spotted on CCTV.

Mr Rastogi, who travelled the country as an itinerant tailor, admitted he had been assaulting children since 2004 when questioned by officials.

Delhi police have set up a special investigations team to probe the matter as they fear there may be many victims who have not yet come forward to report their abuse.

The stigma surrounding sexual assault in India means such crimes commonly go unreported.