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Minor apprehended over murder of homeless woman in northeast Delhi
According to police, the juvenile claimed that he consumed drugs with two others, both adults, before allegedly trying to rape the woman inside the park on the night of October 2. When she resisted, they allegedly strangled her to death, police said
The city police on Friday said they apprehended a juvenile who, along with two friends, allegedly strangled to death a 19-year-old woman in a northeast Delhi park for resisting their attempts to rape her. The accomplices, both adults, are at large, the police said.
According to police, the juvenile claimed that they consumed drugs before allegedly trying to rape the woman inside the park on the night of October 2.
The body of the victim was found in a partially-dressed state on a concrete bench in a public park near Nand Nagri bus depot in northeast Delhi on the morning of October 3.
During investigation, police learnt that the woman was a resident of a place near the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, but was living in and around the park recently. Some homeless persons, who were regulars at the park and were questioned by police, had said that the woman spent most of her time around the park, with other homeless persons.
Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain said that around 6 am on October 3, Harsh Vihar police station was informed about an unidentified woman who was “partially disrobed and lying unconscious on a concrete bench in Hanuman Park”. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Except an “Om” sign tattooed on her right hand, police found no other identification marks or documents to figure out the identity of the victim.
Police said there were visible ligature marks around her neck and some cuts on her hands, suggesting that she was allegedly strangled during a scuffle with the attackers. Though the condition in which her body was found hinted at sexual assault, the preliminary medical examination did not confirm it, said an officer, adding that a murder case was registered and investigation was taken up.
DCP Sain said the team undertook went door-to-door in nearby areas to identify the dead woman. Police also activated their human intelligence network to gather clues about the woman as well as the suspects and learnt that she was a resident of an area near Delhi-Ghaziabad border.
“Our team members also got some clues about the suspects from the CCTV footage of cameras installed around the park. One of them, a minor boy, was apprehended on Friday from Mandoli Chungi in northeast Delhi,” said DCP Sain.
According to Sain, the minor boy confessed to the crime. When questioned, the teenager told police that on the night of October 2, he consumed smack (heroin) with two of his two friends and around midnight, went to the park where they found the woman sleeping on the bench.
“They tried to sexually assault the woman but she resisted strongly and threatened to raise an alarm. In a fit of rage, they strangled the woman using a belt and string of their trousers. They fled after the murder,” added DCP Sain.
The national capital reports over 1,500 rape cases every year, making it one of the most unsafe places for women in the country. In 2020, there were 1,699 cases reported across the city. The number of rape cases in 2019 was 2,168.
