Son of victim’s landlord arrested
People’s ire engulfed the national Capital on Saturday as the report of the rape of a 14-year-old Manipuri girl by the son of her landlord in South Delhi’s Munirka area spread like wildfire. Incidentally, the ghastly act has happened within a week of the murderous attack on Arunachal student Nido Tania in lajpat Nagar market.
The accused, identified as 18-year-old Ashish Tokas, alias Vicky, has been arrested after an FIR was registered under Sections 376 (rape), 323 (causing hurt), 342 (illegal confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and several sections of Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Vasant Vihar Police Station, police said.
According to the police, the incident took place on Friday around 10.30 pm when the victim stepped out of her house in Munirka to purchase a household cleaner from a nearby market. Spotting her walking alone on the road, Vicky accosted her in front of a hospital in the area, gagged her and then took her to his house where he raped her for two hours. He then dumped the injured minor near a juice shop in the locality around 12.30 am. The victim was beaten up badly for resisting Vicky.
“The victim was screaming for help. Hearing her cries, a local shopkeeper rushed to help her. But as he could not communicate with her due to language problem, he called other people from N-E,” a police officer said.
“She was taken to her aunt’s place. At 3 am, the victim reached home and narrated
the ordeal to her relatives and the police was approached,” said a cop. Police identified the accused by scanning the CCTV footage of the area. Then a police team raided Vicky’s residence on Saturday morning and nabbed him. “CCTV footage showed the accused was forcibly dragging the victim. The victim helped us identify the accused.
She also gave the exact location where she was taken by the accused. The arrest was made within a few hours of the filing of the report,” a said a senior police official.The incident sparked a fresh protest as scores of JNU students belonging to N-E thronged the Vasant Vihar police station on Saturday afternoon to register their protest. Peeved over rising incidents of crimes against people from N-E, they blocked the Nelson Mandela road leading to posh shopping malls for entire afternoon. The demonstration caused traffic snarls on Outer Ring Road.
The victim’s parents stay in Manipur and she had been staying with her aunt for the past one year in Munirka. “She was assisting her aunt at her shop of indigenous N-E ornaments in Rama Market in Munirka. She came here to earn a livelihood,” said the sources.
In her complaint, the girl told the police that the accused punched in her face.“We have also informed her parents in Manipur. A TIP will be conducted and investigation is on,” police said.