Watchman who held Delhi minor captive, raped her, held from MP

New Delhi: A 32-year-old man, accused of raping a girl while holding her captive in Delhi’s Buddh Vihar for days, has been arrested from Madhya Pradesh, police said today.

The accused had changed his look and grown a beard to throw the police off-track and had been hiding at his native village in Chhatarpur district of MP since November, officials said.

On November 3, the parents of the 14-year-old girl approached the police alleging their daughter had gone missing from northwest Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Place.

During probe, police found that a watchman from the girl’s neighbourhood had also gone missing from the same date, leading them to suspect his involvement in the case, an official said.

Subsequently the girl was found from Pitampura in Delhi on November 11, while the accused had fled the city, the police official said.

He said the girl had told police that she was offered some spiked food and then kidnapped. She was held captive at a house in Budhha Vihar for a week where she was repeatedly raped by the accused watchman, the official added.

When he learnt that the police were looking for him, he abandoned the girl in Pitampura and fled the city. The girl was counselled and a case was registered.

The accused, whose wife and child were staying in the girl’s neighbourhood, also left the city.

The accused man’s phone was also switched off. However, during the probe, police found that the accused was hiding somewhere in Madhya Pradesh.

A team was sent there and the accused was nabbed yesterday from his native village in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, the police officer said.

The watchman had undergone a makeover to conceal his identity but was arrested, he added.

PTI