Delhi Police have arrested a key accused in the horrific Kalkaji Mandir gang rape case following a dramatic encounter, as investigations continue into the involvement of two other suspects.
Key Points
- A man named Asif, accused in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl, was arrested after a police encounter in southeast Delhi.
- Asif allegedly fired at police, who returned fire, injuring him in the leg during the interception.
- The incident involved three men posing as policemen, who allegedly gang-raped the girl in Astha Kunj Park.
- An FIR has been registered at Amar Colony police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act.
- Police are actively searching for the two other accused involved in the crime.
Three men, including one who was injured following a brief exchange of fire with police, were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in a park near Kalkaji Mandir after they posed as policemen and threatened the victim and her friend, officials said on Tuesday.
Accused Asif was allegedly among the three who posed as policemen and took the girl away at gunpoint to a secluded part of the Astha Kunj Park on Monday evening.
Two others -- Hemant, a lawyer, and his brother Mukesh, a final year BSc Mathematics student, were also arrested from their house and are being questioned. They are natives of Faridabad and reside in Sri Niwaspuri in Delhi.
Asif allegedly fired three rounds at a police team led by Inspector Rajender Dagar when it tried to intercept him near the DM Office Road in Amar Colony in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said.
Details Of The Horrific Incident
One of the bullets hit the bulletproof jacket of Head Constable Rajesh. In self-defence, he fired two rounds, one of which hit Asif in his right leg, the police said.
The accused was subsequently shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment, they added.
The development came during the investigation into the alleged rape of the 17-year-old girl by three men.
According to the girl's statement, she and her 17-year-old male friend had visited the temple for darshan and subsequently, entered the park through Gate No.7.
Joint commissioner of police (Southern Range) Vijay Kumar said, "A PCR call was received at 8:45 pm on Monday regarding a 17-year-old girl from Faridabad who had come here with her 17-year-old male friend. They first went to the temple to offer prayers and then to the Astha Kunj Park, towards a somewhat secluded area."
Police Action And Ongoing Investigation
Three men allegedly approached them, claiming to be policemen, and spoke to them using "police and lawyer-like" language, telling them that they were minors, were doing something wrong and that a case could be registered against them, the officer said.
They separated the girl from her friend and took her to a secluded area, police said, adding that the accused took turns to hold down the boy while the others assaulted the girl.
Asif allegedly threatened the girl with a firearm and a knife and raped her. The two other accused also allegedly raped her, following which the three men threatened the girl and her friend, according to the complaint.
The girl was medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), while crime and forensic teams examined the scene and collected relevant clues.
An FIR was registered at the Amar Colony police station under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Several teams were formed to trace the accused. During the investigation, police received specific information about Asif's movement near the DM Office Road in Amar Colony, laid a trap and following the exchange of fire, arrested him, the officials said.
The Joint CP said the park is open from many sides, while some portions of the boundary wall have also collapsed. "Some gates are not manned with guards, while some places are not sufficiently lit," he added.
The parents of Hemant and Mukesh are based in Faridabad. Their father, advocate J R Dhankar, practises law in the courts of both Faridabad and Delhi.
Speaking to reporters outside the Amar Colony police station, Dhankar alleged that police took his sons from their house around 7 am on Tuesday, without explaining the reason for their detention.
"They were beaten up. We do not know the girl and my sons have no connection with her either. This is a conspiracy to frame them in the case," he alleged.
Dhankar said Hemant is a practising lawyer at Delhi's Saket court, while Mukesh is a final-year BSc Mathematics student.
The police said the victim is a resident of Faridabad and had travelled to Delhi on Monday evening.
The Kalkaji gangrape is the fourth reported case involving the alleged sexual assault of a minor in Delhi in the last two weeks, with the incidents reported from different parts of the national capital.
On Monday, a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped on Deshbandhu Gupta Road in central Delhi. The accused, identified as Ankit, was arrested, police said.
On September 17, a Class-6 student from Sadar Bazaar had stepped out of her house to buy a pencil and books when she was allegedly taken into a nearby tailoring shop by the shop owner. Police said the tailor, Maqsood, restrained the girl by tying her hands and legs and sexually assaulted her. He was subsequently arrested.
In another case on September 10, a 17-year-old girl in northwest Delhi's Swaroop Nagar allegedly went to meet a friend and was subsequently sexually assaulted by him and his associates. The teenager was later found dead, with police alleging that she was stabbed multiple times.
Her body was found on September 13 and four people, including three minors, were held.
The incidents have brought renewed attention to cases of sexual violence involving minors in the capital, with police investigation underway in each of the cases.
