The rape of a 12-year-old girl in Delhi’s Peeragarhi on Tuesday has sent shockwaves across the national Capital. The horrifying nature of the crime, how the girl was attacked using a sharp tool and her subsequent struggle to survive have invoked sharp response from all quarters of the political spectrum and society.
The police filed an attempt to murder case and a case under the POCSO Act, 2012. Late on Thursday night, Delhi Police said that it has arrested the culprit, who also admitted to his crime.
“Immediately after the crime was reported, under the leadership of DCP Outer A. Koan, the force formed more than 20 teams. The team scanned hundreds of CCTV footage, interrogated many suspects and conducted local enquiries. Finally, they were able to zero in on a prime suspect who, during interrogation, admitted his crime. The arrested is 33-year-old Krishan, who already has four criminal cases against him, one each of murder and attempt to murder, while the other being of robbery,” said Joint CP (West Zone) Shalini Singh.
On 4 August, around 5:30 pm, people living in an apartment in Delhi’s Peeragarhi heard cries for help coming from the balcony of a family that works as daily wage labourers in a nearby factory. The family, along with their elder daughter were out working, when the 12-year-old girl was attacked. She was raped multiple times and the assailant then used a sharp object to repeatedly stab her body and skull.
After the perpetrator left, the girl managed to drag herself to the balcony and cried for help. Neighbours and others who heard her, immediately rushed to the house and found the Class VIII student in a pool of blood. She was admitted to Delhi’s AIIMS hospital where she has undergone multiple surgeries and will be kept in the ICU for the next few days.
The arrest, which took place more than two days after the girl was found, had already led to the Delhi Police receiving sharp criticism from many quarters. Earlier in the day, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had sent a summons to the Delhi Outer DCP A. Koan, asking about the force’s lack of progress in the case.
“This horrific crime has been met with police inaction. Such inaction cannot be tolerated. I have met the family. The girl is in a horrific state. The animals who did this to her have to be given the death penalty as soon as possible. In fact, there is a law which says that in cases where a minor has been raped, the trial would be fast-tracked and the culprit be given the death penalty within six months,” DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal told The Daily Guardian on Thursday.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who met the girl’s family in the hospital at 4pm on Thursday, called the incident barbaric. “Her condition is very serious. There are injuries to the very inside of the body. I can’t even tell you how badly she’s been attacked. She will be kept in observation for 24 to 48 hours. I have spoken to the Commissioner of Police, he said the force was actively working on the case. Once the culprits are found, the Delhi government will have the best of lawyers fight to get her justice,” Kejriwal told The Daily Guardian. He also announced a Rs 10 lakh compensation for the family.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Anil Chaudhary also visited the family and later, while speaking to the media, demanded answers on the safety of women and children in the national capital from the Chief Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
DPCC workers also started a protest in the hospital premises when the CM arrived to meet the family. The party workers chanted slogans and asked for Kejriwal’s resignation.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir had also urged the Delhi Police to take quick action and wrote on Twitter, “The brutal rape of a 12-year-old child is absolutely horrific! Those animals deserve nothing less than death. All of us are praying for her and I urge Delhi Police to bring the perpetrators to justice at the earliest.”