NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has sent the mobile phones of all three suspects of the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old minor in Aastha Kunj Park to the forensic science laboratory (FSL), officials said. The move is aimed at determining whether videos of the victim were recorded on the devices, officials further said.
Police are also examining the digital activity and footprints of the three suspects. During the initial investigation, several explicit videos were reportedly recovered from suspect Asif’s phone, while suspects Mukesh and his brother Hemant allegedly deleted their search histories.
Police are verifying these details. The FSL report and other physical evidence are expected to help establish whether the data recovered or deleted from the phones is connected to the case.
A Delhi court on Thursday remanded the three suspects to 14 days’ judicial custody. Asif was arrested after he allegedly opened fire at a police team near DM Office Road in Amar Colony in the early hours of Tuesday. Hemant, a lawyer, and Mukesh, a final-year BSc Mathematics student, were arrested from their house in Sri Niwaspuri.
Police said the three knew each other as they lived and worked near the park and frequently met there. Investigators are also trying to ascertain whether Asif routinely carried weapons and whether the accused were involved in similar incidents at the location.
According to police, the victim had visited Kalkaji temple for darshan on Monday, her birthday, with a 17-year-old friend. They later went to the park, where the three suspects allegedly posed as policemen, separated the girls and raped the victim. The incident took place between 7.15 pm and 8 pm.
In her FIR, the victim said she spotted the three suspects, who intimidated her and falsely identified themselves as police officers. They allegedly directed her and her friend to separate areas of the park before taking the victim to a secluded spot. She told police that when she resisted, the suspects threatened her at knifepoint, assaulted her and warned her of severe consequences if she disclosed the incident.