Rape in a moving cab: Driver shifted to Moti Bagh 8 days ago

Avneesh is a father of two sons. His wife and children live in Etah village, Uttar Pradesh

A narrow lane near Basrurkar market in south Delhi’s Moti Bagh leads to a colony made up of old buildings and overcrowded one-room quarters.

The accused driver who drove a rental car bearing a ministry of home affairs sticker was arrested in New Delhi on Friday, (HT Photo)

Three boys are busy playing cricket in the colony compound close to the main gate. A government school boundary runs on one side, while small houses line up the other.

Few steps ahead, a group of women huddle together and point at a large empty space ahead of them. This was where 28-year-old Avneesh, who allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman in a cab on Wednesday night, parked his vehicle every day.

Police officials said Avneesh had shifted to one of the rented quarters here eight days ago from a slum cluster in Madrasi Camp. Avneesh is a father of two sons. His wife and children live in Etah village, Uttar Pradesh.

Locals came to know about the rape only after police arrived in the colony on Thursday. A majority of the residents claimed that they didn’t know anything about Avneesh or what he had done till police told them about it.

“Drivers come and go as they please. But we do not talk to them. They park their cars here at night,” said a local.

The owner of the quarter, where Avneesh had allegedly been living on rent, refused to comment.

Expressing shock at the incident, women in the neighbourhood said that the locality had become notorious for drivers who often indulged in ‘illegal activities’ at night. Though, the colony houses many families of government officials, illegal quarters have been constructed around the buildings where people from poor background live on cheap rent. Avneesh was allegedly living in one such quarter.

“There is no security here. At one point, there are more than 25 drivers who come and park their vehicles illegally here. They smoke and get drunk. So I do not allow my children to go out at night,” said a woman in her 30s.