A three-year old girl was brutally raped in New Delhi on Thursday evening, at a time the city was unwinding itself after the Holi celebrations.
Women’s safety in New Delhi has come under the scanner increasingly, and the minor’s rape again raised questions on the role of the police and the administration to check this menace. The minor was raped by a 40-year-old man at a construction site in Adarsh Nagar. The victim’s parents are daily wage labourers who work and live at the construction site. The accused also used to work at the same place.
The accused had taken the victim to a secluded area of the site by luring her that he would buy biscuits for her. The children of the labourers, who were playing nearby, heard “some sounds” that prompted them to reach the secluded spot where the girl was being harassed. After the children raised the alarm, other labourers at the construction site rescued the victim.
The victim is said to be out of danger and is recuperating at Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital. Sources said that her medical examination revealed the possibility of a heart disease that might have aggravated the victim’s condition due to the incident. “Doctors are waiting for the final report that will clear the way ahead for her treatment,” said sources.
However, Delhi Police remained tight-lipped about the incident and refused to even confirm if an FIR has been registered. The officials at Adarsh Nagar Police station said that the case was registered at the Model Town Police Station. But the officials at the Model Town Police Station denied having registered any such FIR.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal Jaihind, who visited the victim, wrote in a tweet, “Can’t get 3 year old rape survivor out of my head. She was in state of shock and fear. Was staring at me with big eyes. Rapist comp inhuman”.
Following the incident, DCW chief also raised the issue of compensation for the victims that come under “crime against women”. DCW had sent a proposal to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung requesting to raise the compensation from Rs 3 lakh to Rs7-12 lakh. The proposal hasn’t yet been notified by LG.
Maliwal said, “This is horrific. The family of the victim had come to Delhi only six months back in hope of a better future and now this tragedy has happened to them. Such incidents are happening continuously; there is no end to them. A four-year-old girl was also raped on Saturday by her landlord’s 36-year-old son. I have visited her as well. The accused had offered to help the mother of the victim when she wanted to hire a domestic help to look after her daughter.”