Two girls raped by staff of private pool in Narela

The horrific crime occurred on August 5 when the two minor girls, both of whom lived with their families at a slum in Bawana, went to the swimming pool near Lampur bus stand without informing their families.

Two men – both workers at a privately owned swimming pool in Lampur near north Delhi’s Narela – were arrested for allegedly gang-raping two nine-year-old girls and holding them captive overnight at the pool complex, police said on Tuesday.

Two girls raped by staff of private pool in Narela

The accused, identified as 37-year-old Anil Kumar and 24-year-old Munil Kumar, worked at MK Swimming Pool near Lampur bus stand located near the city’s northern border with Haryana. Police have booked both of them for gangrape, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, and aggravated sexual assault, investigators privy to the case details said.

The horrific crime occurred on August 5 when the two minor girls, both of whom lived with their families at a slum in Bawana, went to the swimming pool near Lampur bus stand without informing their families.

While Anil is a contractor employed by the owner of the pool, Munil is the pool’s caretaker. The pool, police said, is owned by a person named Pawan, who has no role in the crime. Police officials said the pool complex was not fully operational, but routinely allowed a few people to use the pool. The girls had gone there in the past as well.

According to the complaint filed by one of the victims’ mothers, her daughter had been playing at her aunt’s house in Bawana when she and two other girls, including a 12-year-old, boarded a bus to the pool. While the 12-year-old girl returned home, the two nine-year-olds went missing overnight.

The mother recounted that her daughter returned home around 5am the next day but initially did not disclose the assault. “We frantically searched for my daughter in the neighbourhood but could not find her. Before we could approach the police, she returned home… When I asked her where she was the entire night, she told me that an ‘uncle’ at the swimming pool had locked her and another girl in a room there. However, but she didn’t reveal the rape out of fear,” the mother said.

The investigator cited above said that the for two days, the traumatised girls remained silent as the accused had allegedly threatened to kill them if they spoke about the assault.

It was only on August 7 that one of the girls confided in her aunt, who then informed the parents.

The families immediately approached the Narela police station. On the basis of that complaint, police registered the first information report (FIR) on August 9 under sections 70 (gang rape), 127 (wrongful confinement), and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 10 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“The girl told her mother that this uncle – who was later identified as Anil Kumar – asked her to pay him for using the swimming pool. When she told him that she had no money, he locked her in a room with the other victim. Thereafter, he allegedly raped both the girls. Around the same time, the other man (Munil Kumar), also arrived and allegedly raped the two girls as well,” the officer said, quoting the FIR. “The two men kept them confined in the room for the entire night and threatened to kill them if they told their families about the rape. They finally released the two girls at around 4.30am on Wednesday.”

Deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Hareshwar V Swami said that the girls’ medical examinations were conducted, and their statements were recorded before a judicial magistrate.

The police team arrested the two accused on August 10 and recovered critical evidence, DCP Swami said.

“We arrested the two accused after following due procedure. Their interrogation led to the recovery of critical evidence such as a pillow cover, bedsheet and two empty condom packets. We also seized the digital video recorder (DVR) of the swimming pool for evidence gathering purposes,” the DCP said, and added that the arrested men had no previous criminal record.