Kasturba Nagar gang-rape: SIT formed, 4 more arrested; DCW summons police

New Delhi: Even as the Delhi Police arrested four more women in connection with the gang-rape, assault, and public humiliation of a 20-year-old woman in Kasturba Nagar last week, the Delhi Commission for Women on Wednesday summoned the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police, seeking immediate protection for the survivor and her family, who are facing threats.

The incident in the Capital's Shahdara district created a massive outrage across the country and was reported to the police by the Commission after the woman was abducted, gang-raped, disgraced, assaulted and paraded in the streets.

According to the police, a total of 13 people (including at least 12 women) have been arrested in the case so far and three minor boys were apprehended. The survivor has told the police that the women were egging the men and boys to sexually assault her, beat her brutally, chopped off her hair, blackened her face, and then paraded her around the neighborhood with a garland of slippers. The most recent accused to have been arrested have been identified as Komal (25), Rekha (36), Gudiya (21) and Reena (32), by the police, who added that all of them were residents of Kasturba Nagar.

While the police have said that a boy in the accused's family had ended his life after his love for the survivor was not reciprocated, the accused's family had at the time, blamed the survivor for the boy's death. The police said that the accused family wanted to exact revenge and so abducted her. "They wanted to teach her a lesson," a senior police official said. However, the Delhi Commission for Women has said that the accused family was allegedly involved in the illicit liquor and drugs trade. In the notice issued to the police on Wednesday, the DCW sought to know if the accused family members had any record related to the above charges and a report on it.

Significantly, after the incident came to light, many have attempted to reveal the survivor's identity and falsely claim that she had ended her life. The Delhi Police had promptly taken action on this and registered several cases in the matter.

Moreover, the police on Wednesday said that they had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. But the DCW is yet to be provided with all relevant details.

The DCW chief Swasti Maliwal also met the survivor, who she said has expressed fear of life and had described the criminal background of the accused persons.

The women's commission further asked the Delhi Police to come up with a mechanism of providing a 'Safe House' to her.