NEW DELHI: Delhi police arrested the three accused who gangraped a researcher and social worker from Odisha on October 11 in the national capital.
The accused - Prabhu Mahto, Parmod alias Babu and Mohammad Shamsul - have been arrested after three of weeks of investigation. The three raped the woman first in a secluded place and then in an autorickshaw and eventually left her bleeding on the road.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Ravi Kumar Singh said they received a PCR call at 3.15 am on October 11 about a woman, wearing a red kurta and bleeding near Sarai Kale Khan.
"The caller expressed concern that the girl might have been injured or subjected to wrongful assault," the DCP said, adding a team immediately rushed to the spot and found the victim in a distressed state.
She was promptly transported to AIIMS Trauma Centre for medical examination where she disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted. It was also discovered that the victim woman was mentally unstable.
A case under appropriate sections of the BNS was lodged and a probe was initiated by forming ten different teams to crack the case and track the accused.
"It was a case with no initial leads as not only the details of the accused but also the exact time and place of the incident was unknown and the victim could not support the investigation due to her mental illness," the DCP said.
"She had travelled to Delhi on May 9 without informing her family and a missing person report was registered by her parents in this regard on June 9 at Police Station Kumbharpada, Puri, Odisha," the senior officer said.
In Delhi, she sought temporary shelter with one of her known person by stating that she needed a place to stay for two months as she had recently got a bank job in Delhi. However, during her stay, the victim began to exhibit abnormal behaviour.
"On being intimated by the woman she was staying with, the staff of Kishangarh police station had informed the victim’s family however she denied going back to Odisha with her family and also ended her temporary stay with that woman," the officer said.
Thereafter, the woman took temporary shelter at public places like bus stops, railway stations and foot over bridges and severed all contact with her family.
Still, it was difficult for the cops to ascertain the details of the crime committed with the woman due to her mental illness. To gain her trust and gather more details about the incident, the police employed a different strategy.
"Special permission was taken from the management staff of AIIMS Trauma Center, and a woman officer Constable Sangeeta took cover as a social worker while a native Odia lady took cover as nurse and they were assigned to take care of the victim to build trust and gather crucial information from her," the officer said.
While the victim was unable to reveal the time and place of the assault due to her mental condition and extreme trauma inflicted upon her, yet, she revealed a crucial detail that she was assaulted by three people of which one was physically disabled and about an autorickshaw.
"A comprehensive and meticulously organised site plan was developed by identifying more than 700 government and private CCTV cameras installed at both major and minor roads starting from the place of recovery of victim i.e Sarai kale Khan to Old Delhi railway station," the DCP said.
The initial breakthrough was made in the case where, through CCTV the victim was traced as exiting the Old Delhi Railway station waiting hall on October 10. The cops kept tracking the movement of the victim through CCTV cameras all over the city.
The cops verified more than 150 suspected auto-rickshaws and finally traced the auto rickshaw of the accused person. The driver of that auto was identified as Prabhu Mahto and he was arrested on October 30.
Subsequently, the other accused persons, Pramod Babu (32), a resident of Narela, Delhi and Mohammad Shamsul alias Raju, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Delhi were also identified and arrested on November 2 and 4, respectively.
The interrogation of all the three accused revealed that on the day of the incident i.e. October 10, the accused Parmod alias Babu, who is an alcohol addict, closed his shop as per his usual routine and got drunk.
"He noticed a girl sitting nearby. Shortly after, another accused Mohammad Shamshul who is a beggar, alcohol addict and physically handicapped arrived at the scene. Both accused persons conspired to sexually assault the girl, assuming she was mentally unsound and an easy target," the officer said.
The accused duo then forcibly dragged the woman to a deserted area to commit the crime. During this time, an auto driver-accused Prabhu Mahto witnessed the incident and joined them with the intent of getting involved in the crime.
Subsequently, accused Prabhu Mahto again forced the girl in his auto and raped her. Thereafter the accused Prabhu Mahto dumped the victim towards Sarai Kale Khan and drove away.