Three minors among four held over rape, murder of Delhi teen

New Delhi: Four people, including three minors, have been apprehended over the alleged gang rape and murder of a teenage girl whose decomposed body was found in an open field in Delhi, police said.

The suspects were traced after investigators examined footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras and followed the movements of a tempo spotted near the scene, according to police.

The girl’s body was discovered near Kushak Road in the Swaroop Nagar area on September 13. It was so badly decomposed that investigators were initially unable to establish the victim’s identity or even her gender, PTI reported.

Parts of the body had been mauled by stray dogs, police said.

The girl and the suspects knew each other, according to PTI. Police allege that she had gone out with the group in a tempo before she was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death.

The adult suspect has been identified as Shivam, also known as Sudama, while the other three are aged between 16 and 17.

The Indian Express, citing investigators, reported that one of the juveniles was a friend of the girl whom she had gone to meet. He allegedly called three of his friends to join them.

Police allege the girl was sexually assaulted and later stabbed after she threatened to report the attack.

Investigators are still working to establish the precise sequence of events and the individual role of each suspect.

The girl’s family had not filed a missing-person report.

With no apparent eyewitnesses and initially no clear information about the perpetrators, police turned to surveillance footage from the area.

Investigators examined footage from more than 50 cameras covering the area and nearby roads before noticing a tempo moving suspiciously around the time of the crime.

Its registration number could not initially be read because of the darkness, forcing investigators to trace the vehicle’s movements through footage from multiple locations.

Police eventually located the tempo in Khadda Colony in Swaroop Nagar.

A night-long search operation on September 15-16 and questioning linked to the vehicle led investigators to the four suspects, police said.

Two knives allegedly used in the crime, clothes said to have been worn by the suspects and the tempo have been recovered. The items have been preserved for forensic examination.

Police have registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to murder, rape, destruction of evidence and common intention, along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

One of the suspects has denied involvement in the crime, The Indian Express reported. Police said medical and forensic evidence was being examined to verify the accounts of those apprehended.

Investigators are also trying to determine whether anyone else was involved.