Abduction, rape accused held after evading arrest for a year

The accused was working as a mobile salesman when he met the minor. “He took her to Bihar and later brought her back, fearing police action. He was hiding in UP and Bihar to evade arrest,” police said.

Over a year after a 17-year-old girl was kidnapped from her house in north Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar area and sexually assaulted by a man, the Delhi Police on Wednesday said they have arrested the 24-year-old accused.

The accused was never arrested in the case and had been declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

Police said the accused, Niwas Singh, had “lured” the victim by giving her gifts before abducting her and taking her to Bihar where she was allegedly raped.

As per police, in May 2024, the mother of the 17-year-old girl complained that her youngest daughter was missing. Subsequently a kidnapping case was lodged.

A senior police officer said, “For over 14 days, we kept looking for her. We found that someone had taken her to Bihar. Teams were sent there but the accused had fled. The girl was then taken to UP, and then Delhi. Before the police could reach their location, the accused managed to escape. We found the minor alone and it was found that she had been raped by the accused”

Police said teams were sent to Sahibabad in Ghaziabad, and other places where his family lives but he was not there. Teams also raided places in Delhi.

“After months of search, we found that he was back in Delhi and hiding in Laxmi Nagar. A raiding team held him on Tuesday,” said Kumar.

Police said Singh hails from Jharkhand and later shifted to Swaroop Nagar area. He was working as a mobile salesman when he met the minor. “He took her to Bihar and later brought her back, fearing police action. He was hiding in UP and Bihar to evade arrest,” the officer said.