Minor rape survivor poisoned for refusing to withdraw case: Cops

SUSPECTS ON THE RUN Teenager is now out of danger; last year she was kidnapped, raped for a month, rescued from Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly poisoned, assaulted and threatened in southwest Delhi’s Hastsal on Thursday by two motorcycle-borne men for refusing to withdraw a rape case she had filed against a 20-year-old man last year, said police.

The alleged attack took place in the evening when the girl was returning home after attending tuition classes at a nearby coaching centre. Two men allegedly waylaid her and assaulted her. Police said they overpowered her and poured a bottle of some substance down her throat.

“They threatened to kill her and her family members if she did not withdraw the rape case and changed her statement in court,” said a police officer associated with the case. “The attackers fled when the girl raised an alarm and some people in the area rushed to her aid. When she started feeling dizzy, the girl boarded an autorickshaw and got herself admitted at a hospital.”

The girl’s condition was reported to be out of danger, though she is still under observation at a government hospital in West Delhi, said police. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC at the Uttam Nagar police station. Police is on the lookout for the 20-year-old suspect who is currently absconding.

Last year, the girl was allegedly kidnapped in March and raped for almost a month at different places in Rajasthan. The girl’s family filed a kidnapping case at the Ranhola police station. After her rescue, the rape charges were added.

“The girl was rescued from a house in Rajasthan’s Alwar on April 24,” said additional deputy commissioner of police Rajender Singh Sagar. “The rape charges were added in the FIR when the girl, in her statement before a city magistrate, alleged that she was raped several times by the accused over the period of around a month. The accused was arrested on April 26 and later sent to jail. Later, a chargesheet was filed in the case. The accused was released on bail some months later.” Police said that the girl lives with her parents and family members. Her father is a carpenter while her mother is a vegetable vendor. The father of the rape accused is into property dealing and has an office near the girl’s home.

According to the police, the teenager alleged that the accused had been threatening to upload her objectionable videos and photos on social media if she refused to withdraw the case.

The girl claimed the threats and pressure began after the suspect was released on bail and that the local police took no action even as she filed four complaints against him.

“We are verifying her allegations against the local police. If found true, we will take department action against the guilty police personnel,” said Sagar.

A senior police officer associated with the latest case said the incident came to their notice after doctors at the hospital found traces of poison in the girl’s body and called the police. She was declared fit for statement after the medical treatment. Her statement was recorded and on the basis of it a case of hurt by poisoning, threatening to give false evidence and wrongful restraint.

THE GIRL CLAIMED THE THREATS BEGAN AFTER THE RAPE SUSPECT WAS RELEASED ON BAIL