New Delhi: A cab driver in Delhi raped and murdered a 10-year-old child before going home to freshen up.
The driver, Bhashu Kumar Singh (28), was subsequently arrested after he left home and dropped a passenger.
Around 4.15 am on Monday, he kidnapped the 10-year-old girl sleeping on the pavement near a Delhi Metro station, allegedly raped and killed her, and then dumped her body in the Aravali forests along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, as reported by The Indian Express.
He then went straight to his house in Gurgaon to ‘freshen up’, police officials said.
Singh apparently worked for two ride-hailing apps and wasn’t getting any rides that early in the morning, the police said. He then decided to call it a day and head back to his rented accommodation in Chakkarpur village, about 3 km from Gurgaon’s upscale Golf Course Road, around 8 am.
“Just as he reached home, he suddenly got a booking for a drop to Vikaspuri in West Delhi. He picked up the customer and headed towards the location – where he was arrested by the Delhi Police, who were on his heels by then, at 11 am,” the official said.
During questioning, Bhasu claimed he was ‘frustrated’ that he was not getting any rides that night. When he reached the Mehrauli area, he found the girl sleeping – and decided to abduct her.
He has been living in Delhi for the past 10 years. He is married, with two kids aged six months and four years. His family lives in Bihar. He stayed at Chakkarpur with his two brothers, one older to him and the other younger. His younger brother is in college, while the elder one does a private job.
The victim, eldest of four siblings, lived with her parents on the streets of South Delhi, the police said.
The girl’s family had moved to Delhi from Bihar four months ago in search of work but were forced to sleep on the roadside in the absence of a steady income.
The family had dinner hours before the crime and settled in for the night on the hard cement floor amid the unforgiving Delhi heat.
He woke at 4.15 am to his daughter’s screams – ‘Papa… save me’, and grabbed a stick but the assailant had managed to put his child into a vehicle and sped away, the father told the police.
He chased the car and raised an alarm but could not stop the vehicle. The vehicle – a white Wagon R with a commercial plate – was traced using CCTV and registration details. By 11 am on Monday, the accused was taken into custody, the police said.
Bhashu allegedly attempted to snatch a service revolver from an escorting officer and fired at the party while being taken to the crime scene. The police claims they returned fire, injuring him in the leg. He was subsequently admitted to hospital and a separate case for assault on a police officer has been registered.
The distraught father said: “If I had woken up a few seconds earlier, maybe my daughter would be alive.”
