A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped in the national capital by a 31-year-old man with the help of his wife and three days later the accused poured some substance into the victim's mouth after she was hospitalised.
The accused, identified as Jai Prakash, working in a shoe factory, commited the heinous crime on July 2 in Delhi's Nangloi area.
"On July 5, the accused Jai Prakash stopped the victim while she was on her way to home and forcibly poured some liquid into her mouth," Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Sameer Sharma said. The girl fell unconscious after reaching her home and was subsequently hospitalised. The accused Jai Prakash has been apprehended by the police.
The police got the information about the incident when the brother of the victim girl made a PCR call on July 15. "The PCR call was marked to one female Sub Inspector for necessary action," DCP Sharma said. During enquiry, it was revealed that the victim was under treatment at AIIMS Hospital and was unfit for statement, however, on Saturday i.e. July 16, the doctor declared her fit for statement. "The statement of the victim was recorded today in the presence of an NGO member," the official said.
Accordingly, based on her complaint, the police registered an FIR under section 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (rape) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and section 6 of the POCSO Act at eh Nangloi police station.
Meanwhile, the said incident was first brought to the light by Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal who took cognizance of the matter and issued notice to the Delhi Police. Maliwal said that the Delhi Commission for Women received a complaint regarding rape and attempt to murder of a 15-year-old girl. The father of the girl informed the Commission that he is a daily wage labourer and lives in Delhi along with his family. He informed that his daughter used to work in a shoe factory.
The complainant alleged that one day a contractor of the shoe factory took his daughter to his house on pretext of his wife’s illness and raped the girl. "He also alleged that on July 5, the accused forcibly made his daughter drink acid.
The girl is presently admitted in the hospital in a very critical condition," Maliwal said.The Commission has sought the details of FIR registered and accused arrested in the matter. Notably, according to the data compiled by the Delhi Police, during the year 2021, as many as 1969 women were raped in the national capital, 21.69 per cent more than the previous year. In 2020, the figure stood at 1618.
Not just rape, every figure of crime against women has an upward variation. The molestation of women rose by 17.51 per cent and eve-teasing by 17.51 per cent. However, the Delhi Police termed the rise in figures of crime as "due to conscious policy of Fair and Truthful Registration".
But even as stringent laws are in place coupled with proactive approach of Delhi Police and a high solving rate of rape cases (95.48%), molestation of women cases (90.98%) and insult to modesty of women (85.75%), the crime against women still ain't declining. One of the surprising reasons is that most of the time, the person committing a heinous crime is known to the victim woman, as was in the aforementioned case.
Shockingly, during the year 2021, in about 98.78 per cent of rape cases, the accused were known to the victim while strangers were involved in only about 1.22 per cent cases.
According to the Delhi Police, of all the rape cases reported last year, 13 per cent times the accused was a relative of the victim, 11 per cent times a neighbour, 46 per cent times a family or a friend and 1 per cent time an employee or a co-worker.