From a teenager allegedly gang-raped and killed in north Delhi to minors allegedly assaulted in homes, hotels and public spaces, at least 13 cases of alleged rape and sexual assault have been reported across the National Capital Region this month.
Posing as policemen, three men allegedly threatened and raped a 17-year-old girl in the forested Aastha Kunj Park behind southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji Temple, police said Tuesday.
The case is not an isolated incident. Since the beginning of September, Delhi and the wider NCR have seen more than a dozen reported cases of rape and sexual assault, several involving children and teenagers. The alleged attacks have taken place in homes, neighbourhoods, shops, hotels and public spaces, with suspects ranging from relatives and neighbours to strangers and, in the Kalkaji case, men allegedly posing as police officers.
A month of cases across Delhi-NCR
The Kalkaji case came after at least 12 rape and sexual assault cases were reported across Delhi and neighbouring NCR districts since the beginning of September.
2 September, Gurugram: A 61-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a five-year-old girl at his house in Sector 28 after her parents had sent her to him for Urdu lessons. Police said the girl was bleeding when she returned home.
2 September, Ghaziabad: Two minor girls, aged 14 and 15, were allegedly gang-raped in Loni’s Tronica City after being lured to a vacant house. Two accused after an encounter with the police.
3 September, Ghaziabad: Police arrested two men accused of allegedly gang-raping a minor girl after taking her to a hotel on the pretext of helping her get a job.
6 September, Delhi: A young woman alleged that she was drugged and raped, approaching police after a video allegedly connected to the incident surfaced online.
10 September, West Delhi: A four-year-old girl told her mother that a school-cab driver had sexually abused her in Ranhola. Police registered a POCSO case and began searching for the accused.
10 September, West Delhi: A seven-year-old boy was allegedly sexually abused by a neighbour in Nihal Vihar, following which police arrested the accused and registered a POCSO case.
10 September, North Delhi: A 12-year-old girl in Swaroop Nagar was allegedly raped by a 33-year-old relative, who was subsequently arrested, police said.
10 September, Narela: A 13-year-old Class 8 student was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a minor boy, while two of his friends allegedly filmed the assault and threatened her with consequences if she spoke about it.
12 September, Swaroop Nagar: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by four youths, including three minors, after she went to meet a 17-year-old acquaintance; police said she was stabbed repeatedly and her body dumped in a field.
14 September, Swaroop Nagar: A nine-year-old girl was allegedly abducted while asleep and raped by a 40-year-old neighbour and distant relative, who was arrested by police.
16 September, Sadar Bazar: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly lured into a tailoring shop, restrained with her hands and legs tied, and sexually assaulted; the 56-year-old tailor was arrested.
15 September, Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad: A young woman was found wandering through a housing society in torn clothes and seeking clothes from residents, prompting suspicions of gang rape, although police had not established that a rape had occurred.
21 September, Kalkaji: The 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped at Aastha Kunj Park by three men posing as policemen.
What the cases have in common
The cases span homes, neighbourhoods, hotels, a tailoring shop and open spaces, with several involving children and teenagers. In some cases, the accused were known to the survivors; in others, police said the alleged attackers used deception, such as offering help, posing as policemen or luring victims to another location.
The September 12 Swaroop Nagar case stands apart for the brutal killing after the sexual assault. Police said the 16-year-old was stabbed multiple times and her body dumped in an open field.
Taken together, the cases reported this month offer a grim snapshot of the range of circumstances in which sexual violence has allegedly occurred across Delhi and the NCR.
Delhi Police data show that 1,020 cases of sexual offences, including rape and those registered under the POCSO Act, had already been recorded in the capital by 15 September this year. Of these, 653 involved children under POCSO.
The number of incidents involving minors and the variety of locations where they were reported have once again brought questions about the safety of women and children in the capital and its surrounding cities into focus.