In a horrifying case, four men, three of them minors, were arrested by Delhi Police on Wednesday after they were suspected of having raped a minor girl, stabbing her to death and dumping her body in an open field in Outer North Delhi.
The body of a 16-year-old girl was found in an extremely decomposed state around night time between September 12 and 13. Police said that the body was left out in the open in a field near Kushak Road for several days, after the murder took place on September 10.
The body was found mutilated, with the right hand missing and the face and abdomen disfigured due to decomposition.
The team that responded to the report of a body in an open field said that they could not identify the person and their gender initially due to the level of decomposition. “The deceased initially could not be identified,” Additional DCP (Outer North) Lokeshwaran R, who led the investigation, said. The victim was stabbed at least 8 times.
“Though it had been only two days, the body was decomposing very fast – likely due to how exposed it was to the elements. The face was not recognisable. The medical report confirmed rape, and we found eight wounds on her body. It appears that she was murdered and dumped in the area where animals attacked the body,” the first investigating officer said.
Police also said none of the residents reported seeing the girl on Saturday night or on Sunday.
Of the accused, two were aged 17, one was 16 and one 19.
The victim reportedly went out to meet her 17-year-old male friend on the night of September 10, Thursday. He then called three of his friends, and the group spent time together before they allegedly sexually assaulted her. The suspects said that they were drunk at the time of the incident during interrogation.
“When the girl threatened to file a police complaint, the accused allegedly stabbed her to death and dumped her body near the bushes,” an officer said.
One of the accused denied involvement in the crime.
Police officers collected CCTV footage from the area. Footage from over 50 cameras covering the crime scene was examined.
Two knives allegedly used in the crime and the clothes worn by the suspects have been recovered. The tempo has also been seized.
According to one investigator, “From what we have learned so far, the minor had gone to meet the 17-year-old on Friday night. He was the first to rape her, after which she threatened to report the crime to authorities. He then called his friends, who overpowered her and raped her. They were all under the influence of alcohol.”
“After the rape, they took her to a field and stabbed her more than six times. They tried to hide the body under leaves and mud. They later fled in the tempo. We are investigating whether the rape took place inside the vehicle or at the field,” he added.
The investigation revealed that the accused arrived in a tempo. CCTV footage helped the police trace the vehicle to where it was parked in Swaroop Nagar, Delhi. On September 15 and 16. The driver was identified as one of the accused’s older brothers, which eventually led to the arrest of the four suspects.
“The footage also revealed the presence of four young boys inside the tempo. The boys were soon identified but had fled from their homes,” an investigator said.
The police registered an FIR under sections 103(1) (murder), 238(A) (causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to shield offender), 65(1) (rape) and 3(5) (common intention) of the IPC, as well as section 6 of the POCSO Act.
The suspect's statements are being verified, and forensic and other evidence is being examined.
The parents of the victim were reportedly unaware that she had gone out and was missing for two days. No missing person complaint was filed, HT reported. The teen was a school dropout who moved to the area a few years ago. She was looking for a job and was living seperatelty from her parents.
