After 17-yr-old’s gangrape, deadly silence hangs over Aastha Kunj, Delhi park with ‘notorious reputation’

New Delhi: The loud sound of a siren from a PCR van cuts through the otherwise deadly silence that wraps the area around a 142-acre Delhi Development Authority park in south Delhi’s Kalkaji area.

Around 10 pm, the expansive Aastha Kunj park is “locked and closed” according to the authorities, and no one is allowed to enter or exit, but a stream of men can be seen coming in and out by climbing the two-feet wall that runs along the perimeter of the park.

The sounds of whooshing metros rails from the nearby Nehru Place metro station, and loud music from the high-end pubs adjacent to it, fill the air. The noise gradually falls into a lull, as one moves further down the road that leads to the park. Inside the very park stands the Lotus Temple and metres away, the Kalakaji temple. Despite three spots in the vicinity that attract heavy footfall, an eerie silence wraps the area at all times.

PCR vans frequently go around the area, which, locals say, is a development after a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three men inside the park just days ago.

A Delhi court Thursday remanded the three accused to 14-day judicial custody.

Police patrolling in the area has been increased in the nights folllowing the gangrape of a 17-year-old girl | Suraj Singh Bisht

Around 10.30 pm in the park, a few lights can be seen flashing. But in several patches the foliage grows untamed into darkness | Suraj Singh Bisht

While the park has 29-odd gates, many are broken, not locked, and barring a few, most remain unmanned. Many men, who work nearby, use the park as a shortcut at night to surrounding areas | Suraj Singh Bisht

‘This park has notorious reputation. Nobody who cares for their life enters the premises, even during day time,’ says Prashant Soni, while on a night jog around Nehru Place metro station. He says the fear of a ‘mishap’ limits his walking or jogging route just to the concrete roads in the area | Suraj Singh Bisht

A senior police officer tells ThePrint that even patrolling units have faced serious threats in the area. ‘The untamed foliage, high number of snakes and the sheer vastness of the park has made it easier for anti-social elements to hide and carry on their activities. Even in the past, several rape, murder, snatching and harassment cases have been traced back to this park.’ | Suraj Singh Bisht

Pawan Kumar, a tea seller in the area says that while police patrols the area, more monitering is required to the presence of a high number of delinquents in the park. ‘We used to have a chowki here, but it is now dysfunctional. Every other day, our shops are looted at night when we are asleep. Cigarettes, food items, any money on us, all gone if we don’t wake up.’ | Suraj Singh Bisht

DDA has said it is in the process of undertaking a comprehensive assessment of security manpower & deployment requirements, keeping in view the ‘extensive area of the park and its 29 access points’. Delhi Police has also chalked out a plan to increase female patrolling units in the area and a combing of the park and vicinity | Suraj Singh Bisht