Mumbai | Mumbai police have arrested a 62-year-old man for allegedly sexually abusing two 16-year-old girls and raping a woman on the pretext of giving them jobs, an official said on Monday.

Two cases have been registered against the accused, Praful Lodha, at the Sakinaka and MIDC police stations, the official said.

Lodha, who was arrested in the Chakala area on July 5, is a close aide of a BJP leader, it was stated.

According to the police, the accused allegedly sexually abused a 16-year-old girl and her friend on the pretext of getting them a job. He held the girls captive in his house in Chakala, where he tortured and took objectionable pictures of them.

Lodha also allegedly raped a woman in Andheri using the same ruse, the official said, adding that both offences took place this month.

Following his arrest, the police searched Lodha's properties in Jalgaon, Jamner, and Pahur and seized a laptop, pen drive and some electronic items, he said.

The accused has been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The MIDC police took Lodha's custody recently after he was remanded into judicial custody in the POCSO case registered against him at Saki Naka police station, the official added.