New Delhi: A 33-year-old murder suspect was arrested for the rape and assault of a 12-year-old girl late Thursday night.
In a statement, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Shalini Singh said, “After scanning 100s of CCTV footage and questioning suspects, we have arrested a 33-year-old man who has corroborated the sequence of events. His name is Krishan and he has four criminal cases against him … one of them is murder.”
Twenty teams had been formed to investigate the matter and nab the culprit, she added.
The assault took place Tuesday evening when the girl was alone at home and her parents, both daily wagers, were at work. Neighbours found the child in a pool of blood and alerted the police and her parents. She is at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where she underwent an operation for her injuries Wednesday.
“The victim is recovering and has been spoken to,” Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivastava had earlier told ThePrint.
“The minor was found soaked in blood. She sustained brutal injuries and was also bleeding from her private parts. Was assaulted with a sharp weapon on her head,” a police officer who didn’t wish to be named told ThePrint.
A source at the hospital, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint that the child’s condition is now stable and she is recovering.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited AIIMS Thursday, said he was “shaken to his core” by the brutality of the assault, and said “such predators roaming free cannot be tolerated”.
“The rape and assault on the minor is extremely barbaric manner. She had internal injuries, injuries that can hardly be described in words,” Kejriwal said after his visit.
“The child is in a serious state, unconscious. A surgery has been done. She will be under observation for 24 to 48 hours. The girl was bleeding incessantly and had severe wounds on her body when she was taken to hospital,” he said.
AIIMS में डॉक्टर्स और परिवार से मिलकर बच्ची का हाल जाना। डाक्टर्स ने बताया कि अगले 48 घंटे अहम है।
मैंने पुलिस कमिश्नर से भी बात की। इस जघन्य वारदात करने वाले अपराधियों को सख्त से सख्त सज़ा दिलवाएँगे।
परिवार को सरकार 10 लाख रुपए सहायता राशि दे रही हैं। pic.twitter.com/6VM00SsvSg
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 6, 2020
Also read: Stuck at home in lockdown, Delhi continues to record rape and molestation cases
DCW pulls up police, demand death penalty for culprit
DCW chief Swati Maliwal Thursday had summoned the deputy commissioner of police (Outer) to appear before it Saturday, and also sought, by the end of the week, a copy of the FIR registered in the matter apart from details on whether anyone had been arrested, steps taken to identify the accused, and a detailed report on action taken so far.
Speaking to ThePrint, she said the 12-year-old had suffered serious injuries to her stomach, head and other parts of the body. She also claimed that the girl suffered several fractures to the skull and that her intestines had ruptured in the assault.
“It’s been two days since she was raped, but till today, Delhi Police hasn’t made any arrests. DCP must come and tell me about their investigation in which they haven’t been able to arrest the accused,” Maliwal had said in a video she posted on Twitter. She also demanded the death penalty for the culprit.
The DCW had Wednesday sent a notice to the Station House Officer of Paschim Vihar West asking for a report on the case by Saturday.
Eish Singhal, the public relations officer for Delhi Police, said a case has been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code at the Paschim Vihar police station.
“It is a sensitive case. Delhi Police is making all efforts to catch the culprit,” Singhal told ThePrint, and added that CCTV footage in the area was being scanned and suspects being questioned accordingly.
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