New Delhi, January 10: A 22-year-old man allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl at his friend’s flat in east Delhi’s Shahdara area after befriending her and taking her for a ride in his car from outside Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in the national capital, police said. The accused has been arrested.
While the incident took place on Friday, the minor girl reported about it on Sunday. The man’s cousin has also been arrested, the Hindustan Times reported.
The girl had fled from her Ashok Vihar home a few days ago and was staying at the gurdwara. Her family did not file a missing complaint as this was the third time in the past few months that she had fled from her place, said BK Singh, additional commissioner of police (New Delhi). “Her family members had filed two kidnapping cases when she left her home in the past,” said Singh.
The officer said that the accused belonged to Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and had come to Delhi in his Swift Dzire car to get a study visa from Australia. He parked his car in gurdwara’s parking lot around 9 pm and saw the girl walking alone and started following her. “Soon, he introduced himself to the girl and befriended her after a brief conversation. He then asked her to go for a ride with him in his car. The girl agreed,” said the officer.
In her complaint, the girl told police that the man allegedly took her to his friend’s flat in Shahdara and raped her. He dropped her outside the gurdwara around 6 am on Saturday and gave two mobile phone numbers to her.
“In the evening, the man met her again outside the gurdwara but this time he was with his cousin. They offered her a ride in the car, which she accepted. But when the man started molesting her in the moving car, the girl resisted. The two then dropped her near the gurdwara and left,” the officer said.
On the basis of her complaint, a rape case has been registered, Singh said. The location of the suspect was tracked down with the help of the two mobile phone numbers. “We conducted a raid and arrested him. The girl identified him through his photos on a social media profile,” added Singh.