New Delhi: Barely days after the harassment and molestation of two Class 10 students in Bihar’s Jamui district triggered national outrage, Delhi witnessed another brutal sexual assault: three men impersonating police officers allegedly gang-raped a 17-year-old girl inside a park near Kalkaji Mandir on Monday evening, with one suspect arrested after an exchange of fire with police, officials said.
The incident occurred when the girl and her 17-year-old male friend visited Kalkaji Mandir around 7 pm on Monday before moving to Astha Kunj Park, close to the temple, at about 7.30 pm, police said.
According to the complaint, three men aged around 25–30 approached the teenagers, claimed to be police personnel and threatened them. One of them restrained the girl’s friend while the three accused sexually assaulted her, police said.
Police received a PCR call about the alleged sexual assault near Kalkaji Mandir and the ISKCON Temple at around 8.45 pm. A police team subsequently reached the spot and began an investigation. A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while CCTV footage is being examined as part of the probe, as reported by The Statesman.
One Held; Two Still Absconding
As the probe intensified, police zeroed in on one of the three suspects — identified as Asif, a worker at Okhla Mandi — and moved to apprehend him, officials said. When the team intercepted him, he allegedly resisted arrest and opened fire on the policemen, firing three rounds even after being ordered to surrender, police said.
In the subsequent exchange of fire, officers shot him in the right leg to neutralise the threat. He was later shifted for medical treatment and is currently receiving care for the gunshot wound, police said.
The other two accused are still at large and police teams are continuing search operations to trace and arrest them, officials added.
Fourth Minor Sex Crime In Delhi In 10 Days
The Kalkaji Mandir case is the latest in a grim run of sexual offences against minors in Delhi this month, marking the fourth such incident in just 10 days.
On September 13, the decomposed body of a teenage girl was discovered in an open patch near Kushak Road in Swaroop Nagar, North Delhi. Following the discovery, police arrested four individuals—three of them juveniles—in connection with her alleged gang rape and murder.
Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Lata Gupta later visited the grieving family, offering legal, counselling and judicial support.
“These incidents are extremely painful and worrying. The Delhi Commission for Women is certainly concerned about preventing such incidents,” Gupta said after meeting the family.