Two nine-year-old girls were allegedly raped and held captive in Delhi's Narela area at a private swimming pool, and investigation has now revealed that the accused men lured the two minors by purchasing perfumes at a nearby store, an official said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Anil Kumar (37) and Munil Kumar (24), reportedly took the two girls to a nearby shop on August 5 after they came to the swimming pool, about four to five kilometres away from their home. The two victims were accompanied by another girl of around 12 years of age, who returned home.
"They bought them perfumes at the store. The third girl, around 12 years of age, who had come along, went back home," news agency PTI quotes a senior police officer as saying.
According to the news agency's report, the accused had no past criminal record and lived with their family in a slum in Bawana.
According to a complaint lodged by the mother of one of the victims, her daughter had been playing at her aunt's house in Bawana when she and two other girls went to the pool. The woman alleged that the two nine-year-old girls did not return home that day and returned around 5 AM the following morning.
{{/usCountry}}According to a complaint lodged by the mother of one of the victims, her daughter had been playing at her aunt's house in Bawana when she and two other girls went to the pool. The woman alleged that the two nine-year-old girls did not return home that day and returned around 5 AM the following morning.
{{/usCountry}}However, the two minors did not immediately share the ordeal with their parents. The accused allegedly had threatened to kill them if they revealed the crime to their families.
It was only two days after the incident that the girls said they had been locked in a room and raped by Anil, who is a contractor employed by the pool's owner and Munil, who works as the pool's caretaker, the cops stated.
Two accused had also asked the nine-year-old for money, but the girls had none.
Delhi police recover key evidence from spot
A pillow cover, a bedsheet, and two empty condom packets from the spot, along with the digital video recorder (DVR) of the swimming pool was recovered during the probe, an officer said, reported PTI.
"The girls' medical examinations were conducted, and their statements were recorded before a judicial magistrate. The Police arrested the two accused on August 10 from the swimming pool and recovered critical evidence," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar V Swami said.
Police said a case was filed on August 9 under Sections 70 (gang rape), 127 (wrongful confinement), and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 10 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
(With PTI inputs)