Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 28 (ANI): A 54-year-old cook has been arrested for allegedly killing two minor sisters, aged 9 and 8, after sexually assaulting them in Maharashtra's pune, police said on Friday. The accused was produced before a court and remanded to police custody till January 1, 2025. According to officials, the accused, who worked as a cook at a local hotel, was a neighbour of the victims and known to their family. According to Pune Superintendent of Police (Rural) Pankaj Deshmukh, the girls were playing near their home on Wednesday morning when they went missing, prompting a search operation. Later, the bodies of the girls were found inside a water drum near their house on Wednesday night. SP Deshmukh said that the accused allegedly sexually assaulted the elder sister. "When the younger girl came to her sister's rescue, the accused assaulted her too. He then killed both girls by drowning them in the water drum." The accused was arrested from a lodge in Pune city on Thursday morning while trying to escape to North India, he added. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. (ANI)