Man who assaulted minor held, victim battling for life at AIIMS

Arvind Kejriwal visits victim, announces ₹10L aid; suspect has criminal record

nNEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl, who is undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in the national capital.

Krishan, who goes by one name, has a criminal record and attacked the girl at her residence in outer Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area on Tuesday, according to Shalini Singh, joint commissioner of police (western range).

The child was allegedly sexually assaulted when her parents and sister were away at work. She was stabbed multiple times with a pair of scissors.

Neighbours spotted the bleeding child and alerted the police, who rushed her to a hospital. She is in a critical condition.

On Thursday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the girl at AIIMS and announced a financial aid of ₹10 lakh for her family members.

“The toughest punishment will be given to the culprit. We

will appoint the best of our lawyers so that the culprit gets the strictest punishment,” Kejriwal said.

Later in the day, Singh said Krishan’s interrogation confirmed the sequence of events. “He has four previous criminal cases registered against him — one of murder, one case of attempt to murder and two of burglary. Further interrogation is underway,” Singh said.

The police have also established through CCTV camera footage that the man, also known as Kakka, entered the house at 4.40pm and left the building by

4.56pm, according to officials.

The primary motive of the suspect was burglary, a police officer said, requesting anonymity.

“He said he was looking for a house that he could easily target...he found the house open and entered. The girl saw him and tried to raise an alarm...he picked up a sewing machine and threw it at her. He said he also picked up a pair of scissors and stabbed her. Because he was heavily inebriated, he doesn’t remember how many times he stabbed her,” the official said.

Multiple teams were pressed into action to identify and arrest the suspect.

Announcing help for the girl’s family during his hospital visit, Kejriwal said: “The Delhi government will offer financial assistance of ₹10 lakh to the family of the girl. The girl was the victim of a very brutal attack and this money is a means of providing support to her family.”

“She has suffered serious internal injuries, which I find hard even to describe. She is currently unconscious and the doctors said she was in a really bad shape when she was brought in on Tuesday. Since then, she has undergone a surgery and it would take another 24-48 hours for her to make it out of danger. We hope that she recovers fully and goes back home,” he added.

A second investigator, who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said when they started scanning footage from CCTV cameras, they spotted a man wearing a mask entering the building where the girl stayed.

“After some time, the same man was spotted exiting the building, still wearing the mask. Because the time he spent inside the building matched with the time frame when the girl was sexually assaulted and stabbed, he became our prime suspect,” this official said.

Then, the official added, police checked CCTV camera footage from nearby areas. “In one footage, we spotted him removing his mask. We got that footage enhanced and he was identified,” he said. When shown his image, the girl’s parents said they did not know the man, the police said.

“Delhi Police have taken the case registered under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) at Paschim Vihar police station seriously,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Eish Singhal.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal, too, visited AIIMS to meet the girl’s family on Thursday. DCW also summoned the Delhi Police and sought a detailed action taken report in the case.

“Finally, now the police has arrested a person. There should be no delay in getting justice for the daughter. May God bless the girl with good health. Rape cannot be allowed to become a common practice in the country,” Maliwal tweeted after the arrest.