Valsad (Gujarat), Nov 27 : A man has been arrested by the police in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in Gujarat's Valsad district, a police official said.

The accused was identified through CCTV footage accessed by the police.

The accused has been identified as Rahul Singh Jat alias Bholu, who hails from Haryana and is currently in police custody, said Valsad Superintendent of Police (SP), Karanraj Vaghela.

According to the police, the accused is a serial killer as he first raped the 12th-class student in the Motiwada area in Valsad, and then killed her.

During questioning of the accused, it was revealed that he had committed five murders in the last 25 days at different places across the country, the SP added.

According to the police, the accused Rahul took advantage of his disability and mostly travelled free of cost in trains and usually committed his crimes there.

A total of more than 13 cases related to robbery, dacoity, rape, and murder are registered against the accused in different states across the country before being nabbed by the Valsad police.

The Valsad police also investigated the accused's railway route while he travelled from Valsad (Gujarat) to Andhra Pradesh, with over 2,000 CCTV footage searched by the police, SP Vaghela said.

Later, the accused was finally arrested at the Vapi railway station in Gujarat where he confessed before the police about raping and murdering at least five women, the police official added.

At present, Valsad police have also informed the police in other states about the accused and have started questioning him in connection with the rape and murder case.

Although the accused was produced in the Valsad court, he has now been sent on police remand for 10 days.

Valsad police have started preliminary questioning of the accused.

During his questioning by the police, the accused Rahul confessed that had killed five women in the last 25 days.

Apart from Gujarat's Valsad, a complaint has also been registered against the accused at the Mulki police station in Bengaluru, Howrah police station in West Bengal, Secunderabad police station in Telangana, and at the Guti railway station in Andhra Pradesh where a woman was found dead in a train.

The Valsad Police on Tuesday revisited the site where the crime was committed by accused Rahul and a Special Investigation Team has also been formed which will investigate crimes committed by the accused in other states, including Valsad.

/IANS