Delhi teen raped by neighbour, family learns of assault from internet

The 14-year-old girl’s family was alerted by a neighbour who saw the videos leaked online by the main accused and his friends. All three have been arrested.

Three men were arrested on charges of rape in Delhi’s Rohini suburb when the mother of the teenage victim filed a police complaint after a neighbour alerted her about videos circulating of the incident.

People participate in a rally in Mumbai last week against the rape of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua and a teenager in Unnao. (Reuters)

Police said the incident took place two weeks ago in Mangolpur Kalan locality when the main accused, a 32-year-old labourer who is also the girl’s neighbour, allegedly lured her to his home where two of his friends were waiting. He raped the 14-year-old while his friends recorded the act on their mobile phones.

The accused then blackmailed her into silence, threatening they would upload the videos on the internet and circulate them on WhatsApp.

The case came to light after the leaked videos were seen by a neighbour who told the girl’s mother. When the mother asked the girl, she broke down and told her everything. The family then filed a complaint and the girl was medically examined.

The incident in the national capital comes amid days of outrage over the gang-rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Jammu’s Kathua and the rape of a teenager allegedly by a BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh. Several cities across the country have seen rallies and protests by citizens questioning inaction by authorities in these cases.

“We raided the suspects’ hideouts and arrested them on Monday. The mobile phone that was used to record the videos belong to one of his arrested friends,” said deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta.

The girl’s family has alleged that the main accused’s family members have been mounting pressure on them to withdraw the case.

“Accused...is a powerful person and his other family members have a strong hold in the area. They are mounting pressure on us to withdraw the rape case... They are also pressurising us to leave Mangolpur Kalan locality,” news agency IANS quoted the girl’s mother as saying.