Delhi: Auto driver, 2 others held in Delhi gang-rape case

New Delhi: Three persons have been arrested here for allegedly raping a woman hailing from Odisha and then abandoning her in the national capital’s Sarai Kale Khan area last month,police said on Thursday. The arrested individuals were identified as Prabhu Mahto, an auto rickshaw driver, Parmod Babu and Mohammad Shamsul.

The incident came to light in the early hours of October 11 when a call was received by the police at around 3.15 am about a woman, who was bleeding, lying on the roadside in Sarai Kale Khan area. The police took the victim to hospital where a medical examination confirmed sexual assault, said a police officer, adding that she was still under treatment at AIIMS.

A police statement said the culprits were identified and arrested using CCTV analysis – one of which showed the victim near Old Delhi Railway station on October 10. During the analysis of footage from about 700 cameras, auto driver Prabhu Mahto was identified and arrested on October 30. Parmod Babu, a shopkeeper, and Mohammad Shamsul, a roadside beggar, were also arrested.

Parmod and Shamsul told police that they both conspired to sexually assault the woman when they found her sitting alone. They forcefully took the girl to a deserted area and sexually assaulted her, with auto driver Prabhu joining them in the offence. After the sexual assault, the auto driver forced the woman into his vehicle and again raped her, before dumping her near Sarai Kale Khan, the police said.

During the investigation, the police found that the woman had come to Delhi from Odisha a year ago in search of a job, but she had not informed her family about her decision. Two months ago, her parents had come to the city to take her back, but she refused to accompany them.

Since last month, she had lost contact with her family as her phone was stolen, police said. After running out of money, as the woman had no place to stay, she had been living on the streets when the incident took place in October. She had also been sleeping near an ATM and at a railway station.