New Delhi, December 07: A man has been arrested for allegedly raping his daughter thrice reportedly at the instigation of her step-mother.
The 15-year-old victim, who managed to flee her house in Jamia Nagar and contact police with the help of an auto driver on Saturday, was produced before the child welfare committee on Monday and sent to the shelter home Prayas. The step-mother has also been arrested.
According to sources, the girl, who lost her mother at a young age, was staying with her aunt at Okhla. "On November 15, the father, the owner of two kebab shops, and his second wife went to Okhla and forced her to come with them. She was allegedly beaten up the same evening by them and the father also tried to molest her. A neighbour called the cops but they did not register a case as it was only a case of physical abuse. The girl's father was counselled and the girl told to compromise," said a police source.
The girl, who has now recorded her statement under CrPC Section 164 before CWC, has confirmed the same.
It was on November 17 that the girl was reportedly raped by her father for the first time. According to her statement, her step-mother "instigated" the father to carry out the crime. She was raped twice more in the next fortnight, she said. Finally, the girl fled home around 2.30am on December 3.
After she lodged a case, a medical examination at AIIMS confirmed rape and her father was arrested, cops said. "We later arrested the step-mother, too, and we will file a chargesheet against both. Both of them have been sent to judicial custody," said additional CP (southeast) Ajay Chaudhry.
According to government statistics released recently, 23 per cent of rape cases in urban areas took place in Delhi and 10.8 per cent in Mumbai. A total of 1,422 kidnapping or abduction of women have taken place in Delhi last year which is 37.7 per cent of the total cases in 35 major cities. There were 112 dowry deaths and 1,273 incidents of cruelty by husband or relatives in Delhi last year, said the report of the national Crime Control Bureau.
In Mumbai, there were 146 incidents of kidnapping of women, 21 dowry deaths and 312 incidents of cruelty by husband or relatives during last year.
-Agencies