A 17-year-old girl was gang-raped inside a park near Delhi’s Kalkaji Mandir on Monday evening by three men impersonating police officers, according to local police. Authorities have arrested one suspect following an exchange of fire, while search operations continue for the remaining two attackers.
The assault occurred after the victim and a 17-year-old male friend visited the Kalkaji Mandir to offer prayers around 7:00 pm. Following their visit, the two walked over to sit in a public park situated between the Kalkaji Mandir and the ISKCON Temple at approximately 7:30 pm. According to hindustantimes.com, one of the accused held the boy while others assaulted the minor girl, and they left the park after threatening the teenagers with arrest. Deccanchronicle.com reported that the girl and her friend had visited the temple and later went for a walk towards the forested park area behind it, where one of the accused allegedly restrained the girl’s friend before the accused sexually assaulted the minor in turns.
Three men between the ages of 25 and 30 approached the teenagers, claiming to be police officers. The attackers then threatened the pair before sexually assaulting the minor.
Police Response, Encounter, and Legal Proceedings
A PCR call reporting the incident was placed at 8:45 pm, prompting an immediate dispatch of law enforcement officers to the park. The survivor was taken for a medical examination, and her formal statement was recorded to initiate criminal proceedings.
Investigators registered a case under relevant legal provisions, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as noted by hindustantimes.com. Police teams began analyzing CCTV footage from cameras installed across the park and adjacent stretches to trace the suspects’ movements.
During the subsequent manhunt, one of the suspects—identified in police reports as Asif—was apprehended following a police encounter. Officials confirmed that the suspect sustained a gunshot wound during the exchange of fire and received medical assistance.
“Further legal action is being taken on the basis of her statement. Efforts are on to identify and apprehend the accused,”
a senior police officer, via Hindustan Times
Authorities have deployed additional teams to locate and detain the remaining two individuals involved in the crime, noting that further arrests are expected as the investigation proceeds.
Wider Safety Concerns in the Capital
The attack near Kalkaji Mandir has drawn renewed attention to the safety of minors and women in the national capital. This case marks the fourth reported sexual assault involving a minor in Delhi within a ten-day span, compounding public scrutiny over law enforcement and security in public spaces.
Earlier incidents during the same period included the gang-rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl by four persons, including three juveniles, in Northwest Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar on September 13—where police found her severely decomposed body near a field along Kushak Road (specifically near Jaipal Rana’s field, according to deccanchronicle.com) with parts eaten by stray dogs after analyzing footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras and tracing a suspected tempo linked to the crime. Other referenced incidents include an assault on a sixth-grade student inside a Sadar Bazaar shop on September 16 after she went out to purchase stationery and was lured, restrained with her hands and legs tied by 56-year-old shopkeeper Maqsood (who was arrested and sent to judicial custody the same day), and the rescue of a 15-year-old girl from Kishanganj, Bihar, who had allegedly been held captive and repeatedly assaulted in the city over a two-month period.
Additionally, Delhi Women Commission Chairperson Lata Gupta on Sunday condemned the alleged rape and murder of a minor in the capital and assured the victim’s family of legal aid, counselling, and judicial assistance, describing the incident as painful and worrying
while speaking to ANI and noting that the family was going through mental anguish and was in a vulnerable condition.
Ongoing Search Operations and Next Steps
While investigators question local witnesses and pore over digital surveillance records from the forested park area behind the temple, the immediate priority remains the capture of the two fugitive suspects.
Police have not yet released additional identifying details regarding the two suspects still at large, but patrol and surveillance units continue their sweep as legal proceedings against the arrested suspect advance.