Woman guard at Ghaziabad high-rise alleges rape by supervisor, dies in hospital

The autopsy report came by late Monday evening, but it could not ascertain the cause of death and remained inconclusive on rape, the police said

A 19-year-old woman private security guard, posted at a residential high-rise in Ghaziabad, died at a hospital in Delhi on Monday after she was raped allegedly by her supervisor at their office on Sunday, Ghaziabad police said.

The investigators in the case said the woman was seen in CCTV footage entering the office of her supervisor around 11.30pm on Sunday. She left 10 minutes later, they said. (Representational image)

According to police, they had initially registered an FIR [first information report] of gang-rape naming the supervisor and two additional unidentified persons at Crossings Republik police station on Sunday, but the woman in her statement to the magistrate name only her supervisor as her assaulter, said police.

The supervisor has been arrested, police said.

“We have arrested him and are awaiting the autopsy findings and the medical report. It has come to light that she suffered damage to her lungs, but the cause of the damage is not known yet. There are theories that she tried to die by suicide after the incident but this has not been substantiated,” deputy commissioner of police Vivek Chandra Yadav (rural) said.

The autopsy report came by late Monday evening, but it could not ascertain the cause of death and remained inconclusive on rape. The viscera has been preserved, the DCP said.

Police said the deceased hailed from Jharkhand and was working at a high-rise since about a month and was staying with her aunt nearby the high-rise.

Her landlord’s son said, “The woman was given some poisonous substance by the supervisor and her condition started to deteriorate soon after. The guards later shifted her to the private hospital in Gautam Budh Nagar. From there, her aunt received a call. The woman had come a month ago from Jharkhand in search of work and she was staying with her aunt’s family who is our tenant. She died around 3am on Monday at the hospital in Delhi.”

“From the private hospital, she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she died early Monday morning. Based on a complaint filed by her cousin, a case of gang-rape under Section 376d of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was filed against the supervisor and two unidentified persons. We got her statement recorded before a magistrate (under CrPC 164) at the private hospital. As she was unable to speak, she gave her statement in writing to the magistrate and named only her supervisor,” said the DCP

The investigators in the case said the woman is seen in CCTV footage while entering the office of her supervisor around 11.30pm on Sunday.

“She exited the office about 10 minutes later and seemed normal. After the suspect was arrested, he said some residents had complained against the woman over her frequent absenteeism. Upon this, the supervisor had marked her absent for three days. However, the woman in her statement before the magistrate said the supervisor raped her and this will make a strong case against him. Her statement will hold as it is her dying declaration,” said a police officer, attached to case investigation, asking not to be named.

The police said based on her statement, the case of gang-rape will now be treated as a case of rape against the supervisor.

A purported audio clip has also come to fore in which the weeping woman could be heard telling a security officer about the alleged incident.

“Sir, he (the suspect) called me to his room in order to sign the register...he locked the gate from inside and tried to hold me by my waist and kiss me and was brushing his body to mine. He said he will give me money and mobile phone. So, should I sell my honour to him? I will complain against him at the police station...,” the woman was heard saying.

A video of her narrating the same thing to several persons standing near her has also surfaced. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio or video clip.