Girls, aged 5 & 7, raped by neighbours

Two girls, aged five and seven, were sexually assaulted by their neighbours in separate incidents on Sunday.

In the first incident, a seven-year-old girl was raped by a 29-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Muzammil Sohail. The suspect barged into the victim's house when her parents were away around 11 am and sexually assaulted her. Neighbours rushed to her help after hearing her screams. They caught Sohail as he tried to flee.

A senior police officer said Sohail was married and had three children, including two girls. He has been booked under IPC Section 376 (rape) and various sections of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act.

In the second incident, reported from western Bengaluru's JJ Nagar, a 40-year-old businessman reportedly sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl.

Mohammed Roshan, who is into the automobile business, dragged the girl to an under-construction site and sexually assaulted her. Passersby heard the child's screams and caught Roshan before turning him over to the police.

Both the suspects were produced before the court, which remanded them in judicial custody.