The 54-year-old British national who was arrested earlier this week for sexually assaulting three Indian children at a blind school in south Delhi may have assaulted 34 other children across the country, according to the police.
Police reports say the online chat history of the accused, Murray Denis Ward, suggest he was in contact with more than two dozen teenagers — both male and female — and sent explicit messages to them. The identities of these children have not been verified yet.
Investigators have also found more than 100 pictures and videos of children being sexually abused by adults on the perpetrator's mobile phone. While many of them seem to have been downloaded from the internet, several others were shot with his phone, according to the Times of India reports.
Ward, who has been in India since 2000, was taken into police custody and interrogated on Monday evening, where he reportedly admitted to assaulting several of these children. He also revealed the names of his victims, which he had saved on his phone in coded language.
The police are also trying to find out whether Ward was associated with an international paedophile racket. He is reportedly in a two-day police remand right now.
Reports state that he worked as a senior manager with several telecom companies in the country and often travelled to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. During these visits, he reportedly associated with philanthropic work, laying the groundwork to meet his victims.
Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police RP Upadhyay said teams have been formed to reach out to the alleged survivors to record their statements. Meanwhile, authorities are attempting to find out whether other such cases have been registered against the Brit outside the country as well.
