3 held in Greater Faridabad minors’ assault case

Three local youths have been arrested in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 13-year-old girl and the sexual assault of her 16-year-old male friend inside an abandoned building in Sector 78, Greater Faridabad. Police said three other suspects remain at large. The case, registered more than a month after the incident, has renewed attention to the safety of minors in public and semi-public spaces across the Delhi-NCR region.

According to the complaint and police accounts, the alleged offences took place on the evening of 24 August, between approximately 7 pm and 8 pm. The girl, described as a Class 8 student, had finished her tuition classes and gone to meet her friend. While they were together near a vacant, dilapidated structure, a group of six youths reportedly followed and cornered them. Investigators said the two minors were threatened, taken inside the building, assaulted and robbed before the attackers fled.

The family’s complaint alleges that the girl was gang-raped and her friend was also sexually assaulted. Some reports state that the youths demanded money, beat the minors when they resisted, and that the children later said they had cried for help for an extended period. Faridabad police have confirmed the arrests and the registration of a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to causing hurt, criminal intimidation and extortion. Officers have also indicated that the allegation of gang rape remains under investigation and has not yet been independently confirmed in every detail.

The complaint was filed at BPTP police station on 29 September, after the girl’s mother approached the police. Both minors had kept the incident from their families for several weeks. According to police and family accounts, the girl later showed signs of severe distress. When her mother questioned her, she disclosed what had happened. Medical examinations were subsequently conducted.

Within hours of the formal complaint, police teams arrested three men in their twenties, identified as Kunal, Deepak and Yash. They were produced before a local court and remanded to police custody for further questioning, with reports citing a period of three or four days.

Investigators described the arrested men as local youths with a history of drug abuse. One suspect was identified after a name was allegedly used during the attack. Authorities are still trying to locate the remaining accused. The Faridabad case comes amid renewed concerns over the safety of women and minors following a series of sexual assault cases reported in Delhi and the National Capital Region.

On September 21, a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped by three men inside Astha Kunj Park in Delhi’s Kalkaji area. According to Delhi Police, the accused posed as police personnel before separating the teenager from her male friend and taking her to an isolated part of the park. The accused were subsequently arrested. The issue also came under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny after several sexual assault cases involving minors were reported in Delhi.