Visually impaired woman raped near Delhi’s Karol Bagh

Police said that the survivor had told them that the rape was committed by one man, adding that two others stood guard outside.

A 20-year-old visually impaired woman was allegedly raped in a shanty next to her home in central Delhi, near Karol Bagh on Friday morning, when the woman’s mother had stepped out to fetch water.

In this file photo taken on April 15, 2018, demonstrators hold placards during a protest against rape, in New Delhi. (AFP)

Police said that the survivor had told them that the rape was committed by one man, adding that two others stood guard outside. But the survivor told HT on Sunday that all three men had assaulted her. She said that they had covered her mouth to stop her from screaming.

A 21-year-old e-rickshaw driver, Chotu Pal, was arrested after the survivor identified him from his voice, said Mandeep Singh Randhawa, deputy commissioner of police (central). Pal lives in the neighbourhood and knew the woman, police said.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, the survivor is the youngest of five siblings. She lives with her uncle and mother in a slum without a front door near Karol Bagh. Her mother collects scrap for a living.

She said she was sitting on an abandoned cart outside her house when the assailants approached her.

“Chotu Pal tried to lure me to a neighbouring shanty by offering me chocolates and biscuits. But since my mother had told me not to move from the place until she returned, I refused. He then caught me by my arm and forced me into the jhuggi,” she said. “There were one or two men already inside.”

The woman said that she only heard Chotu Pal’s voice. “The others did not say a word,” she said.

When the attackers left, the woman said she crawled back to her hut. Her mother, who returned with the water, found her daughter crying in the house. “When I returned home around 30 minutes later, I found my daughter crying. When I got to know that Pal had raped her, I called him on his phone to confront him but he wouldn’t receive my calls. I then called the police,” she said.

The woman was sent for a medical examination, after which a rape case was registered at Desh Bandhu Gupta Road police station. Pal was nabbed the same day. He led the police his two associates, who have been detained.

The DCP said the woman mentioned only one rapist in her statement before a counsellor. “She will record her statement before a magistrate on Monday. We will then take a call on arresting the other two suspects who allegedly guarded the crime scene,” said the DCP.

As per the Delhi Police data, more than five women were raped every day in the city till April 15 this year.