Girl gang-raped by 8 men, dumped near Agra highway

NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old woman employed with the Delhi Jal Board was allegedly gang-raped by an acquaintance and at least seven of his friends through Thursday night and dumped near the Ballabhgarh flyover on the Delhi-Agra highway. The victim managed to call the control room immediately and on the basis of the car number she recalled, a youth has been detained.
The main accused, however, are still at large, triggering allegations by the victim’s family that they were being protected due to their political connections in the region.A case has been registered under sections 376 G (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) at the sector 55 police station.
According to the girl’s complaint, the acquaintance, Inderjeet, had asked her to meet him to sort out a quarrel between him and his girlfriend. The victim said she knew Inderjeet’s girlfriend from Ballabhgarh where she lived until recently and the latter had confided in her about her relationship. The victim has moved to Badarpur in Delhi since.
“On Thursday, Inderjeet called up the victim and asked her to mediate between him and her friend, saying they were facing problems in their relationship. The victim received the call at 8pm and she was asked to meet him near the Britannia factory close to Jharsaitali village. When the girl arrived at the spot, she found Inderjeet standing with his Santro along with several friends. They abducted the girl in the car,” says the FIR, a copy of which is with TOI.
The accused, Inderjeet, lives in Jharsaitali village, near sector 55.
While Inderjeet and three of his friends - identified as Lukka, Navin and Santu - were in a Santro, the others followed in a Nano and a Skoda. The cars stopped at a barren field off the Agra-Delhi highway near Jharsaitali village and Inderjeet and his friends took turns raping her. The family alleged that she was raped in the moving car too. The FIR says the girl was made to gulp down alcohol as the ordeal continued well past midnight. Around 1.50am, the accused forced her into the Nano and dropped her near the Ballabhgarh flyover. The girl contacted the police control room at 1.55am.
The police claimed they immediately set up police barricades across Faridabad based on the girl's description of the car. The victim could remember only the last digits of the Santro but remembered the Nano's registration number in full. "We immediately located the Nano and have picked up a youth for questioning," said a senior police officer. There were allegations, though, that the police allowed media personnel to freely photograph the traumatized rape victim as she accompanied them to identify the vehicle.
Police said the victim was medically examined and rape was confirmed. Officers said they would be taking the statements of the girl's friend soon.
Police have been raiding several places in Ballabgarh, Faridabad and Delhi but have not been able to arrest any one of the key accused so far. The victim's family alleged that the youths had political clout in the region and were being protected. Top Faridabad police officials said as of Friday evening, five teams were on the lookout for the accused.