16-yr-old struggling to identify three accused: Accused wore hoodies, beat up minor rape victim, say Shalimar Bagh police

At the park, Monday. The girl told police that around 6.30 pm on Saturday, three men entered the park and overpowered her and her friend. They beat up her friend before raping her. Amit Mehra

Two days after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped and her friend beaten up in Shalimar Bagh, investigators said the two have so far been unable to identify or describe the three accused. According to police, this could be because the incident took place around 6.45 pm, when it was dark, and also since the accused were wearing hoodies. Police said they have recovered CCTV footage from the spot which shows three men arriving at the park on a motorbike half an hour before the incident. However, police are yet to establish if the three men in the footage are the accused.

The girl, who works as a domestic help was sitting with her male friend inside the park when the incident took place. According to police, the three accused robbed the girl of her mobile phone, and her friend of his shoes. “The Delhi Police has recorded the girl’s statement under CrPC Section 164 before a magistrate. She has corroborated the statement she gave to the police. Police have taken her clothes for forensic examination,” police sources said. Sources told The Indian Express that 15 teams have been formed in northwest district to conduct door-to-door verification in nearby slums to find the accused.

“The girl and her friend told police that the accused were wearing hooded jackets. The girl alleged that before raping her, they slapped her, because of which she was disoriented and could not make out their faces,” sources said. During investigation, the SHO (Shalimar Bagh police station) showed a ‘criminal dossier’ to the girl and her friend. “Initially, the girl appeared to recognise one of the accused after seeing his photo. However, police later found that the man has been in jail for the last six months,” sources said.

“Moreover, on the basis of local source information, police on Monday evening detained three suspects and started questioning them. However, the girl and her friend could not identify them,” an officer said.

DCP (northwest) Aslam Khan said, “Some suspects have been narrowed down and we are verifying them.” Narrating what transpired on Saturday, an officer said, “The girl told police that around 6.30 pm, three men entered the park and overpowered them. They first slapped the victim’s friend, and started beating him. One of the accused, who was wearing slippers, asked him to remove his shoes and took them with him. He left his slippers behind. The girl’s friend eventually managed to escape and approached the Shalimar Bagh police station. The accused, meanwhile, dragged the victim inside the bushes and allegedly raped her,” the officer said.