17-year-old girl gangraped and killed in Delhi, minors among accused

NEW DELHI: Four including three minors, have been arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Delhi. The decomposed body of the girl was found on September 13. The body had been partially eaten by stray dogs and was so badly decomposed that it was initially impossible to determine even whether the remains were those of a boy or a girl.

Police said the victim and the accused were previously acquainted. At the time of the crime, they were travelling in a tempo. The accused, who were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, sexually abused the girl and then stabbed her to death before abandoning her body in an isolated area. The decomposed body was found near a farm belonging to Jaipal Rana on Kushak Road in central Delhi. One of the girl’s hands had been severed from her body.

Although the girl went missing, her family had not filed a missing complaint. The family told police that the girl would occasionally leave home and return only after several days.
A case has been registered against the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Since there were no eyewitnesses, identifying and locating the accused was difficult. Police examined more than 50 CCTV recordings and eventually traced the vehicle’s registration number, which led them to the accused.

Shivam (Sudama, Chuchu), a resident of Khadda Colony, is the only adult accused. The other three accused are aged 16 and 17. Police recovered two knives allegedly used in the murder, the clothes worn by the accused, and the vehicle.

The police said that forensic and technical evidence, among other evidence, is being examined as part of the investigation.