New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and then stabbed to death by four teenagers, including three minors in the Swaroop Nagar area of north Delhi on September 11.
Her body was found hidden under leaves on September 13, the police said on Thursday.
After days of investigation, the cops picked up Shivam Ganesh (19) in connection with the crime. His accomplices, the three minors aged 17 and 16, have also been taken into custody. The two knives used by the suspects and the clothes that they allegedly wore at the time of the crime have been seized at their instance, Hindustan Times reported.
The victim was a school dropout who lived by herself. She was searching for work to help support her family. When the police found her body, it had 6-8 stab wounds.
Investigation has revealed that the girl knew one of the suspects, a 17-year-old, and had gone to meet him on the evening of September 10.
“He raped her and when she threatened him, he called his friends who also raped her. They were all under the influence of alcohol. We have already taken their blood samples. After they committed rape, they took her to a field and stabbed her more than six times early on September 11. They tried to hide the body under leaves and mud. They later fled in the tempo,” a police official said, citing initial investigations.
Her decomposing body was found on September 13.
Further investigation is in progress to establish the complete sequence of events, ascertain the individual role of each apprehended person, verify all available forensic and technical evidence, and examine the involvement of any other person in the offence, Shobhit Saksena, DCP, Outer North District, said.
“The recovered exhibits have been preserved for forensic examination and necessary legal action will be taken accordingly,” Saksena said.
The girl was found stabbed to death in an open field near Kushak Road, Swaroop Nagar two days later, the police said. Based on the autopsy report, a case of murder, rape and causing disappearance of evidence was registered.
Locals has not spotted the girl in the area earlier, a team led by additional DCP (Outer North) Lokeshwaran R and assistant commissioner of police Ravinder Ahlawat found. Following this, more than 50 CCTVs were scanned and then a tempo was spotted moving near the field around the time of the incident.
The registration number was not clearly visible in the footage due to the darkness but the vehicle was finally identified with the help of CCTV mapping,
The driver of the tempo was picked up and he revealed that his 17-year-old younger brother often took the vehicle.
“The footage also revealed the presence of four young boys inside the tempo. The boys were soon identified but had fled from their home,” an investigator said.
The team had analysed the movement of the tempo across multiple CCTVs and used the footage along with local inquiry to establish the route taken by the accused, Saksena said.
“On the basis of the developed leads, a night-long search operation was conducted during the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. The tempo was traced in Khadda Colony, Swaroop Nagar. Its driver was identified and questioned. Further investigation led to the apprehension of four persons,” the DCP added.
