25-year-old held for abducting, raping 10-year-old flower seller

NEW DELHIA 25-year-old e-rickshaw driver was arrested earlier last week for allegedly abducting and raping a 10-year-old girl in central Delhi’s Prasad Nagar, police said on Thursday

NEW DELHI

The driver has been booked for rape and under PoCSO Act, police said. (Representative photo)

A 25-year-old e-rickshaw driver was arrested earlier last week for allegedly abducting and raping a 10-year-old girl in central Delhi’s Prasad Nagar, police said on Thursday.

Police said that the minor, a native of Karnataka, was homeless. She lives with her parents on the footpath and sells flowers at traffic signals.

Police said the incident took place when the girl approached the accused driver, identified as Durgesh, a native of Uttar Pradesh, on January 11, to sell flowers. “He told the girl that he will help her sell all the flowers and took her to a forested area nearby on that pretext. He raped her in the forested area and fled the spot leaving her bleeding and semi-conscious,” an investigator said.

About two hours later, the girl managed to get up and reach her parents, after which she informed them about the ordeal. The parents took her to the hospital and informed the police.

A case was registered at Prasad Nagar police station on charges of rape under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under applicable sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

During the probe, the police examined footage from over 300 CCTV cameras in the vicinity to identify and trace the accused. He was subsequently arrested two days later, police said, adding that he was sent to judicial custody.