A 15-year-old native of Nepal narrowly escaped getting raped by a taxi driver in Buddha Garden toilet under Chanakyapuri police station.
The incident happened around 5.30 am on Thursday when the teen was returning from Manali after a vacation and hired a cab from Kashmere Gate to board a train for Maharashtra from New Delhi railway station.
Sensing that the girl was alone and new to the city, the driver — identified as Mohammad Jameel — suddenly stopped the cab near Buddha Garden claiming that the engine was not working and they would need to hail another cab. While waiting to flag another taxi, Jameel obscenely gesticulated asking the Nepali teen to join him in Buddha Garden’s washroom. This spooked her and she ran for help. Some joggers noticed her and informed police.
“We reached the spot immediately and arrested Jameel and lodged a case under the relevant sections against him,” a senior official informed. Jameel runs a private Eeco cab, which is registered in his elder brother’s name. A case of abduction has been registered at Chanakyapuri police station, the official added.
The girl had been handed over Child Welfare Committee for further counselling. Her father, who is a security guard in Maharashtra, has also been informed.
Buddha Garden infamously hit headlines in October 2003 when four
troopers of the President’s Bodyguard raped a 17-year-old DU student. All four were held guilty in August 2009.