Minor sexually assaulted at Delhi park, attacker held

The girl and her brother had gone to collect books from a government-run school and were waiting outside the park when the crime took place, said the police.

A 42-year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and photographing her on his mobile phone at a public park in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden on Saturday afternoon, police said on Monday.

A woman who was passing by saw the sister-brother duo crying, learnt about the alleged sexual assault and informed the police, which nabbed the man in the park itself.

The girl and her brother had gone to collect books from a government-run school and were waiting outside the park when the crime took place, said the police.

A woman who was passing by saw the sister-brother duo crying, learnt about the alleged sexual assault and informed the police, which nabbed the man in the park itself.

“We dispatched police personnel, including a woman officer. They surrounded the park to ensure the suspect did not escape. He was caught from the park. His mobile phone was seized and examined. Objectionable images of the girl were found on the phone,” said a senior police officer, who did not want to be named.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit said the man, identified as Neeraj Kohli, was arrested in a case of rape and criminal intimidation under Sections 376(2) (i) and 506 of Indian Penal Code and 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, registered on the minor girl’s statement.

According to the officer, the sister-brother duo lives in a West Delhi neighbourhood and studies at a local government school. The girl is a Class 7 student while her brother studies in Class 5. Their mother is a help while the father works at a shop.

On Saturday, around 12.30 pm, the two had gone to collect books from the school. Police said the school guard told them to wait after which they went to the park, which was nearby.

In the meantime, a stranger, who was smoking in the park, came and on some pretext took them to a secluded part of the park where nobody else was present, another police officer said, quoting the girl’s statemen

“The man threatened the children and forced the boy to leave the park. He sexually assaulted the girl and took her images on his cellphone,” said the officer cited above.

The girl came out of the park and met her brother. They were crying when a woman spotted them. She informed the police after the girl narrated the incident.

“Our team reached there and caught the suspect from the park. The girl’s medical examination was conducted and her statement was recorded,” the officer said.

Kohli’s antecedents were verified but he was not found previously involved in any crime, the officer added.