NEW DELHI: Eighteen days after a teenager was robbed and molested by a vagabond in the high-security Chanakyapuri area, a 27-year-old man has been arrested for the crime.
The 17-year-old girl, who lived with her aunt in Gaya in Bihar, had come to Delhi to meet her parents. She was carrying her academic documents and Rs 4,000 in cash. After arriving at New Delhi Railway Station, she was inquiring about how to get to Delhi Junction Railway Station when she ran into the man who told her that she could take a train from platform 10.
When she reached the platform, she saw the same man again and he told her that the train would come very late. He asked her to accompany him in a bus as he was also going there. They boarded a bus running on route number 729. They got down at Sardar Patel Marg bus stand from where the man took her inside a forested area claiming that it was a shortcut to the station. He then robbed her bag at knifepoint and also tore her clothes in a rape bid.
The teenager, however, fought back and managed to escape. With the help of a passerby, she approached police who took her statement and filed an FIR under IPC sections of abduction, robbery and molestation, apart from Section 8 of Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
DCP (New Delhi) Eish Singhal said, “The accused was unknown to the victim and she had no other information. The case was totally blind. Four teams were formed under ACP Pragya Anand to crack the case.”
Footage from 160 CCTV cameras from Sardar Patel Marg and New Delhi Railway Station was analysed, profiles of 400 criminals were scanned and dossiers of around 140 sexual offenders were shown to the victim. In all, 220 suspects were questioned. A sketch of the accused was prepared with the help of experts at the Crime Record Office.
The sketch was shown to almost 5,000 people at various railway stations and ISBTs and the details were also shared with informers. An informer soon gave a tip-off about the suspect. A raid was conducted in the ridge area and the accused was apprehended. He was identified as Neetu, a native of Rajasthan. The robbed bag, wallet, certificates and documents, the survivor’s clothes and the knife used in the crime were recovered from him.
The survivor has identified the accused. His appearance also matched with the suspect seen on CCTV. During interrogation, Neetu confessed to the crime and disclosed that he had spent Rs 4,000 on alcohol and food.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)