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Delhi teen gangrape: Accused harassed people in park earlier, say witnesses
The witnesses include guards in the park, and workers at a nearby LPG godown, an officer said.
After losing my father as an adult, I became acutely aware of some older men who tried to show me unwanted avuncular affection. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
The Delhi Police has recorded statements of 12 witnesses in the alleged gangrape of a teenager by three men at Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) Aastha Kunj Park in Southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji area on Monday, officers said. The witnesses include guards in the park, and workers at a nearby LPG godown, an officer said.
The workers at the godown and guards had allegedly seen two of the three accused, Asif and Hemant, harass people previously at the park as well, police said. They had also seen Asif and Hemant on Monday, when they came to the park, an officer said.
The three men, who were arrested on Tuesday, allegedly used a combination of police language, including ‘Janab’, and threats to convince the teenager and her friend, who accompanied her, that they were dealing with police officers, before sexually assaulting her.
Another police officer said that the accused Asif, initially went to the Okhla mandi, where he sold vegetables, before coming near his home. Sources said that realising that he would be caught by the police soon, he switched off his phone, and then attempted to flee on his bike.
The other accused, brothers Mukesh and Hemant, initially went to an eatery after the incident, before going back to their home in Sriniwaspuri. They then allegedly washed their clothes in bid to get rid of evidence.
Earlier, Delhi Police added sections of conspiracy in the FIR, after recovering a gun, a knife and condoms from Asif, one of the accused in the case, said officers.
A senior officer had said that they are investigating if Asif was roaming in the area allegedly with condoms and a knife, because he and his two accomplices, Mukesh and Hemant, intended to target women inside the park. “There have been some allegations against Asif inputs from multiple people around the area that he used to harass people repeatedly.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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