Locals, relatives disown rapists, say they have shamed village

NEW DELHI: Locals in Kirari including the parents of the five men, who allegedly raped two teens on Wednesday night, have disowned them, refusing to even defend

NEW DELHI: Locals in Kirari including the parents of the five men, who allegedly raped two teens on Wednesday night, have disowned them, refusing to even defend the five in court.

HT Image

The father of one of the accused, Manish, has not returned home ever since he found out about his son’s involvement in the gang rape and also refused to go to the police station to see him.

Manish’s brother, Rajnish, told HT that his father was ashamed of Manish and that he wants him to get a strict punishment. “My brother has tarnished our family’s reputation and my father is very upset. He has decided not to defend him in court or visit him in police custody. It is my mother who has been doing the running around,” he said.

The family of the youth, who is still to be arrested, has also told the police that they would hand him over to the police in case he comes home. “I do not know where he is. If he was innocent, why did he not come home? Why is he hiding? He should have come home. If he does not return, it means he has committed the crime and I will hand him over myself,” his mother said.

Locals told HT that the youths were unemployed and were often seen loitering around in the area. “One of them was studying, but the others would not let him be. His parents often beat him up asking him to stay away from them, but he did not listen,” a local said.

One of them had also been involved in over three cases of snatching and robbery. He had also been in jail for over 15 days “They are all drug addicts. We often saw them sitting in dark corners taking drugs and passing comments but no one bothered to pay attention or report the matter to the police. No one thought that they would do such a thing,” another local said.