Swaroop Nagar gang-rape, murder: Cops likely to seek trial of minors as adults

New Delhi: Delhi Police are likely to approach the court to request that three minors, accused in the gang-rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Swaroop Nagar, be tried as adults, according to two senior officers aware of the case, who added that the charge sheet in the case will be filed in a week

New Delhi: Delhi Police are likely to approach the court to request that three minors, accused in the gang-rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Swaroop Nagar, be tried as adults, according to two senior officers aware of the case, who added that the charge sheet in the case will be filed in a week.

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Police said that the 19-year-old accused was sent to judicial custody following interrogation on Friday, and the three minors were produced before the juvenile justice board, which sent them to a correction home for boys. They said that despite recovering a few documents to establish the minors’ ages, they are also considering a bone ossification test to avoid any lapse during proceedings, one of the officers said.

“We are in the process of preparing a watertight charge sheet, which we plan to submit in the court within a week. We will also request the court to try the three alleged juvenile accused as adults, as they are aged 16 and 17 and their crime falls under the heinous category,” the officer, who did not wish to be identified, said.

The four teenagers are accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, an acquaintance, in the early hours of September 11 and then stabbing her at least six times when she threatened to report them to the police. Her body, in a mutilated condition, was found two days later in an open field near Kushak Road.

According to the second officer, a bone ossification test of the victim will also be conducted to determine her exact age, as her family has not been able to produce any document related to her birth or schooling. She had been living with her father and brother in Swaroop Nagar.

Police said they are trying to ascertain why the family did not file a missing person’s complaint.

“The family members told us they believed she may have gone outside Delhi with her friends, which, they claimed, she had done in the past as well. However, we are not convinced with the family’s version,” the second officer said.

On Thursday, deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Shobhit D Saksena announced that the mutilated body discovered on September 13 was that of a 16-year-old girl, who was stabbed to death allegedly by four people, including three minors, after being gang-raped. The blind case was solved through technical investigation, including scanning of over 50 CCTV cameras, which showed a goods vehicle (tempo) near the field where the body was found.

The vehicle’s ownership was established and the owner was questioned. He told the police that his younger brother, aged 17, had taken the vehicle on September 10. The teenager was questioned and he confessed to the crime; following which the three others were also held.

“The 19-year-old arrested man claimed that he and his friends panicked and became angry after the girl allegedly threatened to file a rape case against them. He claimed she wanted to marry him but he was not ready. We are verifying the claims and also trying to ascertain if the murder was pre-planned, as the man and one juvenile were already carrying a knife each,” the second officer added.