Woman gang-raped in moving car; 2 held

A senior police official said that the woman, a house help from Noida, was looking for a job since the pandemic had affected the earnings of her husband, who worked as a mechanic.

The city police arrested two men who allegedly gang raped a 22-year-old woman in a moving car for over an hour before dropping her off in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park area and fleeing.

Activists and students protest against growing number of rapes in the country. (Raj K Raj/ Hindustan Times)

Police said the woman alerted the cops immediately after the incident happened on Monday afternoon, following which the investigators nabbed the suspects.

A senior police official said that the woman, a house help from Noida, was looking for a job since the pandemic had affected the earnings of her husband, who worked as a mechanic.

The official said that one of the suspects, identified only by his first name Rohit, who is also from her locality and was known to the victim for the last two weeks, called her on Sunday and promised her a job at his cousin’s shop in Delhi. He also promised to take her to the job location in Delhi the next day.

After picking her up on Monday, Rohit was also joined by his friend, Nitin, a kilometre away.

Police said they then allegedly raped her inside car while driving towards northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park.

She further said that when she tried to scream for help, the suspects allegedly threatened to kill her if she did not keep quiet.

After her hour-long ordeal, the suspects allegedly warned her against informing anyone about the incident and dropped her off in the Shastri Park area.

Although traumatised, police said the woman called up the police control room and shared her location.

A PCR van took her to the police station where her complaint was lodged, her statement recorded and she was counselled.

The woman was also medically examined after which a case was registered under sections 376 (D) (gang rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

“While the woman was being examined, she said that she recalled the number of the vehicle they were travelling in. Using this information, our teams traced Rohit and through him, Nitin. It was found that they had borrowed the car from someone,” said deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain.

Police seized the car used in the crime and said that the suspects hailed from Noida. “Rohit and Nitin have been friends for quite some time...,” said a police official.

The suspects -- jobless but not from poor families, according to police -- were both sent to judicial custody.

“The two did not have any case registered against them in the past,” said an official.