Man accused of raping minor held after 15 months

GURGAON: After launching a manhunt and checking the records of over 150 guest houses and several liquor vends in the city, the Gurgaon police finally managed to nab the man accused of raping a minor girl in Sector 44. His arrest came 15 months after the alleged crime.

As the victim was a minor at the time the alleged crime was committed and only had vague recollection of the incident, the police had to rely on the grainy image of the accused to identify him from a CCTV footage obtained in May 2016 from a liquor vend in Sector 29.

The accused, identified as Amrish Dubey (28), a resident of Kheda in Madhya Pradesh, was caught after he was spotted at the Sector 29 liquor store.

“On the night of April 29, the accused had managed to lure the girl and take her to a remote corner in Sushant Lok where he allegedly raped her. He also tried to kill her, but the girl survived,” Deepak Saharan, DCP, east, said. The minor and her father confirmed the accused’s identity.

A case was registered at Sushant Lok police station on the complaint of the victim’s father. He was booked under the POCSO Act. Saharan said that a team, led by inspector Gourav Phogat, was formed and it took almost a year to crack the case.

“The only lead that the police had was that a worker from a liquor vend was missing after the rape in Sector 44. The tea shop of the victim’s father is only 200 metres away and we gathered that he made frequent visits there. Also, it was found that the accused was a habitual drinker and could not stay away from alcohol for long,” Saharan said.