Delhi: 13-year-old girl gang-raped multiple times in a day; seven suspects held

A 13-year-old girl from Delhi's Swaroop Nagar alleged that she was gang-raped by two men on June 23, and later by three others on the same day, Delhi police confirmed on Monday, July 3.

The police also said that the minor was sexually assaulted twice around six and seven months, respectively, by four other people. Out of the total nine suspects, seven suspects, including a minor, have been held so far and the search for the remaining two is ongoing.

The Swaroop Nagar resident is an eighth-grade student in a local school, her first statement was recorded on June 29. “She identified all the nine suspects by their names,” said said Ravi Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP).

“We arrested two adults and apprehended a minor suspect. Two other suspects (ages yet to be verified) are being searched for,” he said.

"On June 23 night, she was allegedly going to meet a friend in Swaroop Nagar when three people known to her lured her to an abandoned building at around 7pm, where they took turns to rape her," the DCP told HT. "On her way back home, two other persons known to her intercepted her and allegedly gang-raped her at one of their homes," he added.

The victim informed her mother, who lodged an FIR the next morning on June 24, following which, a case of gang rape, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint and under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act) was registered at Swaroop Nagar police station.

During the investigation of the June 23 incident, the victim also revealed that she was sexually assaulted and intimidated by two of her classmates. The assault was not reported at the time.

A separate case of gang-rape and under POCSO was lodged on June 30 at the Swaroop Nagar police station. All the four suspects in that case have been held, confirmed the DCP.

The minor is now in stable health condition and is undergoing therapy.