Three men, including one who was injured in a brief exchange of fire with police, were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in a park near Kalkaji Mandir after posing as policemen and threatening the girl and her male friend, officials said.
The alleged rape took place in an old, dilapidated stone structure inside the Aastha Kunj Park, where the three accused allegedly took turns assaulting the girl, police sources said.
Accused Asif was allegedly among the three who posed as policemen and took the girl away at gunpoint to a secluded part of the park on Monday evening.
Two others -- Hemant, a lawyer, and his brother Mukesh, a final-year BSc Mathematics student -- were also arrested from their house and are being questioned. They are natives of Faridabad in Haryana and reside in Delhi's Sri Niwaspuri.
According to the sources, the accused knew each other as they lived and worked in the vicinity of the park and also, frequently met there.
Asif, who lives in Amar Colony, used to work as an onion wholesaler at the Okhla Mandi, the sources said.
Police are also verifying information that the three men may have been involved in other similar incidents at the park. No complaint has been received in connection with any such incident so far and police are trying to ascertain whether there were any other victims, the sources said.
Asif allegedly fired three rounds at a police team led by Inspector Rajender Dagar when it tried to intercept him near the DM Office Road in Amar Colony in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said.
One of the bullets hit the bulletproof jacket of Head Constable Rajesh. In self-defence, he fired two rounds, one of which hit Asif in his right leg, police said.
The accused was subsequently shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment, they added.
The development came during the investigation into the alleged rape of the 17-year-old girl by three men.
According to the girl's statement, she and her 17-year-old male friend had visited the Kalkaji Mandir for "darshan" and subsequently, entered the park through Gate No. 7.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Vijay Kumar said, "A PCR call was received at 8:45 pm on Monday regarding a 17-year-old girl from Faridabad who had come here with her 17-year-old male friend. They first went to the temple to offer prayers and then to the Aastha Kunj Park, towards a somewhat secluded area."
Three men allegedly approached them, claiming to be policemen, and spoke to them using "police- and lawyer-like" language, telling them that they were minors, were doing something wrong and that a case could be registered against them, the officer said.
They separated the girl from her friend and took her to the secluded area, police said, adding that the accused took turns to hold down the boy while the others assaulted the girl.
The rape survivor's male friend was also allegedly beaten up by the accused, following which the PCR call was made from his mobile phone, according to police.
Asif allegedly threatened the girl with a firearm and a knife and raped her. The two other accused also allegedly raped her, following which the three men threatened the girl and her friend, according to the complaint.
The girl was medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), while crime and forensic teams examined the crime scene and collected relevant clues.
An FIR was registered at the Amar Colony police station under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Several teams were formed to trace the accused. During the investigation, police received specific information about Asif's movements near the DM Office Road in Amar Colony, laid a trap and, following the exchange of fire, arrested him, the officials said.
The Joint CP said the park is open from many sides, while some portions of its boundary wall have also collapsed. "Some gates are not manned with guards, while some places are not sufficiently lit," he added.
The parents of Hemant and Mukesh are based in Faridabad. Their father, advocate J R Dhankar, practises law in the courts of Faridabad and Delhi.
Speaking to reporters outside the Amar Colony police station, Dhankar alleged that police took his sons from their house around 7 am on Tuesday, without explaining the reason for their detention.
"They were beaten up. We do not know the girl and my sons have no connection with her either. This is a conspiracy to frame them in the case," he alleged.
Dhankar said Hemant is a practising lawyer at Delhi's Saket court, while Mukesh is a final-year BSc Mathematics student.
Police said the victim is a resident of Faridabad and had travelled to Delhi on Monday evening.
The Kalkaji gangrape is the fourth reported case involving the alleged sexual assault of minors in Delhi in the last two weeks, with the incidents reported from different parts of the national capital.
On Monday, a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped on Deshbandhu Gupta Road in central Delhi. The accused, identified as Ankit, was arrested, police said.
On September 17, a Class-6 student from Sadar Bazaar had stepped out of her house to buy a pencil and books when she was allegedly taken into a nearby tailoring shop by the shop owner. Police said the tailor, Maqsood, restrained the girl by tying her hands and legs and sexually assaulted her. He was subsequently arrested.
In another case on September 10, a 17-year-old girl in northwest Delhi's Swaroop Nagar allegedly went to meet a friend and was subsequently sexually assaulted by him and his associates. The teenager was later found dead, with police alleging that she was stabbed multiple times.
Her body was found on September 13 and four people, including three minors, were held.
The incidents have brought renewed attention to cases of sexual violence involving minors in the capital, with police investigation underway in each of the cases.
(With inputs from PTI)
