New Delhi: In a replay of the chilling Nithari killings, a man has been arrested from south Delhi for sexually assaulting and killing at least 15 children since 2008, police said on Sunday. His latest victim was a six-year-old girl a few days back.

The 24-year-old man, Ravinder Kumar, was arrested on 16 July for raping and murdering the six-year-old girl in Begumpur area of south Delhi.

‘On 14 July, we received a missing complaint about the minor girl in Begumpur, and arrested Ravinder Kumar after investigation on July 16,’ Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikramjeet Singh said at a press conference.

‘During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and also revealed that he sexually assaulted and killed at least 14 other children since 2008,’ the official said.

Ravinder Kumar, who hails from Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh, lived in Karala village in Delhi.

‘Ravinder seems to be a person with a perverted mindset. At the time of arrest, his mental condition was normal. If needed, we will opt for a brain mapping test along with his psychological profiling,’ the DCP said.

The official said police were able to establish Ravinder Kumar’s involvement in seven such cases. The victims were mostly from Delhi’s outer areas like Begumpur, Kanjhawala, Samaypur Badli, Mundka and Vijay Vihar.

‘This brings back memories of the Nithari murders of 2005 and 2006 in Noida, where many young girls reported missing were murdered by Surinder Koli,’ the police official said.

During interrogation, Ravinder Kumar told police that he would lure children, both boys and girls, with toffees or money, take them to isolated spots and rape them before murdering. He then dumped the bodies in drains or buried them in fields.

The DCP said that on 14 July, a complaint was lodged at Begumpur police station of a minor girl missing.

During a search, the girl’s body was found in an abandoned house.

Police also found a driving licence issued in the name of a man named Sunny, who at that time was being interrogated in another case in Kanjhawala police station.

Sunny revealed that he recently had a scuffle with Ravinder Kumar, who ran away with his motorbike and also snatched his driving licence.

‘We launched a manhunt and nabbed Ravinder Kumar from Kanjhawala area. On being questioned, Ravinder confessed to having murdered many more children earlier,’ the DCP said.

Last year, Ravinder Kumar was arrested for assaulting a minor boy in Begumpur. He abducted the boy near his house and then fled after slitting his throat.

He assumed the boy was dead, but he was saved as police found him bleeding in a septic tank of an under-construction building, the DCP said.