New Delhi, Jan 22 (PTI) An 11-year-old girl, selling roses at traffic signals in central Delhi, was allegedly kidnapped, raped and left unconscious in a forest area by an e-rickshaw driver, police said on Thursday.
After having analysed footage from nearly 300 CCTVs installed across multiple routes, police arrested the accused, Durgesh, aged around 40 years.
The incident occurred on January 11 in the Prasad Nagar area, where the girl was standing at a red light selling roses. The accused stopped his e-rickshaw after dropping off passengers.
“When the child approached him to sell flowers, he lured her with the promise of helping her sell all the roses and made her sit inside the vehicle,” a senior police officer said.
The accused took the girl to a forest area near Professor Ram Nath Vij Marg and raped her. Believing her to be dead, Durgesh fled and left the girl unconscious and bleeding, police said.
After regaining consciousness, the girl managed to reach her family. Alarmed by her blood-soaked condition, they immediately took her to a hospital and informed the police.
A case under relevant sections of kidnapping and rape, along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was registered, police said.
The officer said the child was in deep shock and initially couldn’t narrate the sequence of events, which made the investigation challenging. Police began scanning CCTV footage from the area where the child was last seen and from routes leading to the forest.
“Footage from around 300 CCTV cameras installed on nearly 15 routes was examined. In one of the clips, the girl was seen boarding an e-rickshaw. The vehicle’s registration number was traced, which led to the identification and arrest of the accused on the same day,” he said.
During interrogation, Durgesh told police that he had noticed the girl at the traffic signal on earlier occasions and had planned the abduction. On his disclosure, police recovered blood-stained clothes and other evidence, he said.
The child is undergoing medical treatment and counselling. Further investigation is underway, police added. PTI SSJ HIG
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