18-year-old gangraped in Delhi, four held (Night Lead)

NEW DELHI - An 18-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped in a moving vehicle by four youths, including a minor, after she protested their lewd remarks in the Sultanpuri area of northwest Delhi late Saturday. All the accused have been arrested, police said Sunday.

Manish, Rama and Chanderpal have been booked for rape and abduction while the minor boy has been charged under the Juvenile Justice Act, a police officer said.

However, even as the police claimed to have cracked the case within hours by arresting the accused, questions are being raised over the delay in tracking them even though police were informed immediately after the abduction.

The girl’s male friend who was with her when the incident occurred called around 9.25 p.m. on Saturday after the girl was pulled in the vehicle. Barricades were put across the area, a police officer said.

According to sources, the caller had informed the police about the girl being abducted in a big black car, though neither the car number nor the model was mentioned.

The girl was on her way to pick up her mother, who works in a factory, when the men in a black Hyundai Accent car started passing lewd remarks at her near a bus stop in Sultanpuri.

“The men in the car passed some comments after which they had a heated argument with the girl and her male friend. She protested and an argument ensued, after which she threw a bunch of keys at the car which damaged the rear window. The men then forced her into the car and allegedly raped her in the moving car,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer District) Chhaya Sharma told reporters.

According to the police, the girl was tracked after a search was conducted in the area.

However, some officers have given contradictory statements, saying that the victim was rescued after she made a call to police around 11 p.m. after being dumped by the rapists.

The accused are now being questioned and will be produced in court, a police officer said.

The incident comes days after a 30-year-old BPO employee was abducted and raped by four men in south Delhi and a 22-year-old woman was abducted and raped by six men in northeast Delhi last week.

Referring to these incidents, some NGOs have identified areas of Delhi considered unsafe for women, which include Munirka, Mahipalpur, Moti Bagh, Mohammadpur, Nanakpura, New Friends Colony and Delhi University campus.