Freed in Chhawla rape case, man held for murder

The police officers who arrested Vinod, along with one of his associate, said that they allegedly stabbed to death the auto driver on the road outside Netaji Subhash Apartments in Dwarka Sector-13 on January 26

A man among the three people acquitted in the 2012 Chhawla gang rape and murder case was arrested on Sunday for allegedly murdering an auto-rickshaw driver on January 26, police officers aware of the case said.

Vinod, 35, along with Ravi and Rahul, was convicted and sentenced to death by a Delhi court in February 2014 — a verdict that was upheld by the Delhi high court in August the same year, for allegedly gang-raping and murdering a woman that the three had abducted from near her house in Chhawla camp. The Supreme Court, however, acquitted them on November 7, 2022. (Representative image)

Vinod, 35, along with Ravi and Rahul, was convicted and sentenced to death by a Delhi court in February 2014 — a verdict that was upheld by the Delhi high court in August the same year, for allegedly gang-raping and murdering a woman that the three had abducted from near her house in Chhawla camp. The Supreme Court, however, acquitted them on November 7, 2022, pointing to gaping holes in the police investigation.

The police officers who arrested Vinod, along with one of his associate, said that they allegedly stabbed to death the auto driver on the road outside Netaji Subhash Apartments in Dwarka Sector-13 on January 26.

They added that the two stabbed Anar Singh, 44, in the neck while trying to rob him. The second person arrested in the case was identified by the police as Pawan, 29.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Harsha Vardhan said in the early hours of January 26, Vinod and Pawan boarded the auto-rickshaw for Dwarka from Chanakyapuri. When the auto reached near Netaji Subhash Apartment in Dwarka Sector-13, the two passengers took out a knife and tried to rob the driver of his cash and belongings. The auto driver fought back, but Vinod and Pawan stabbed him in the neck. The injured driver rushed out of the vehicle and screamed for help. The attackers panicked and ran away. However, they were captured on a CCTV camera installed near the spot, said the DCP.

The DCP said that during the investigation, the police teams scanned CCTV cameras installed on the route taken by the suspects after they killed Anar Singh. “In the CCTV footage, they were seen walking towards Ranhola and then returning to Dwarka area, where they parted their ways. The direction in which Vinod went was not covered by any CCTV camera, so his further movement could not be traced,” the DCP said.

“We continued scanning cameras on the routes that Pawan took and found him entering a house in Najafgarh. We raided the house that belonged to his aunt. However, he was not found there. His relatives were questioned and they revealed that Pawan lived in Faridabad. We raided his Faridabad house and arrested him on Sunday (January 29),” added the DCP.

During interrogation, DCP Vardhan said, Pawan identified the second attacker as Vinod. He told the police that Vinod lived with his mother in Mohan Garden area near Uttam Nagar. The same day, Vinod was also arrested. However, police officers did not know at that time that Vinod was acquitted in the Chhawla gang rape and murder case, he added.

“We interrogated Vinod and asked about his involvement in other crimes. He said that he had been acquitted in a gang rape and murder case. When we interrogated him further, he told us about the Chhawala case. Both Vinod and Pawan said that they killed the auto driver for robbing him. Vinod said it was his first crime after the acquittal,” said DCP Vardhan, and added that the two were produced before a city court which sent him into judicial custody.

Police said that the other two acquitted convicts in Chhawla case — Ravi and Rahul — are living in the native village in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.

The 19-year-old victim in the Chhawla case worked in a private company in Gurugram’s Cyber City. The three convicts lived in her neighbourhood, the police said

On February 9, 2012, the woman was allegedly abducted by them in an Indica car from Qutub Vihar near Chhawla, a few hundred metres away from her home at Chhawla Camp. Her mutilated body was recovered from a field at Rodhai village in Rewari district of Haryana on February 13.

On February 13, 2014, a Delhi court convicted the accused and awarded them death sentence on February 19. In August the same year, the Delhi high court upheld the trial court’s verdict. However, on November 7, 2022, the Supreme Court acquitted the three alleged accused, pointing out faults in the police investigation and the trial at the Dwarka special fast-track court.