JOIN USA 24-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped at a property dealer’s office in Swaroop Nagar by four people on Thursday. The accused landed in the police net when they were travelling in a car with the victim and were noticed by a police control room (PCR) van in Burari.
The police said the incident came to light when a PCR van tried to stop a Hyundai Santro around 2 am. The vehicle had tinted glasses and was signalled to stop as they suspected something amiss.
“The driver accelerated which led to a police chase. A message was immediately sent to other PCR vans who joined the chase and managed to intercept the vehicle,” a police official said.
The woman told the police that she was raped by the four co-passengers. Subsequently, Mohammed Shakeel, 23, Lajpat Rai Sachdeva, 38, Mohammed Irshad, 30, and Mohammed Abid, 21, were arrested and taken to Burari police station.
The victim, who hails from West Bengal’s 24 Parganas district, further stated that she knew Abid and had gone to meet him in Swaroop Nagar. “She became acquainted with a scrap dealer Abid after meeting him at his shop,” the official added.
A case of gang-rape and kidnapping was lodged in Burari police station, which was later transferred to Swaroop Nagar.
Abid allegedly took the victim to a property dealer’s office in Uttarakhand Colony, where Lajpat works as a caretaker. Shakeel and Irshad, both tailors, were already present.
“It is claimed that the four men took turns to rape her between 8 pm on Wednesday and 2 am on Thursday,” the official added.
Sources said the four accused and the woman were under the influence of alcohol, and the accused claimed that the victim was a sex worker and that they had paid her Rs 2,500.
They later took the victim in their car to Rohini sector 16, where the victim stays with an acquaintance from her village. “She came to the capital in search of a job about two months ago, but was not working anywhere,” the official said.