NEW DELHI: The survivor of the horrific gangrape lay silently in a bed at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, lost in thought. Outside, there waited a posse of cops hoping she would say something that would help them catch her assailants.
It was a blind case. Forget the identity or number of assaulters, even the time and place of the crime wasn’t known. The woman had been discovered at Sarai Kale Khan in a battered state, in pain and unable, or unwilling, to speak. Constable Sangeeta went to the ward in the guise of a social worker. After consulting the AIIMS Trauma Centre management, the cops also got an Odia translator to go in as a nurse.
The two were assigned to take care of the survivor while building trust and gathering information.
The survivor took some time to open up. She showed three fingers when asked how many men had assaulted her. “One of them was handicapped and they had an auto,” she told the undercover duo. She also uttered the word ‘station’. She was unable to reveal other details, like the time and place of the rape due to her preexisting mental health challenges and the trauma of her horrific experience.
Joint commissioner of police Sanjay Jain formed a special team led by DCP Ravi Kumar Singh and ACP Aishwarya Singh and 10 sub-teams to pursue the case. Sub-inspector Shubham Chaudhary prepared a site plan, identifying more than 700 government and private CCTV cameras installed on the major and minor roads starting at the point where the woman was discovered on Oct 11. The investigators got their first lead when they found CCTV footage showing the victim exiting the Old Delhi Railway Station waiting hall at 10.14am on Oct 10.
The team then analysed footage from cameras at Kashmiri Gate, Red fort, Daryaganj, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Rajghat-Shantivan, Rajghat Depot Bypass, ITO, Mathura Road, PWD headquarters, DTC headquarters, Indraprastha depot and the petrol and CNG pumps between ITO and Sarai Kale Khan. This helped prepare an electronic map of the route possibly taken by the survivor.
After minutely studying the possible route taken by the woman, more than 150 autorickshaws identified by both visible and non-visible licence plate digits were verified. The breakthrough came with the spotting of an autorickshaw parked near the scene of crime. The same auto was then seen moving and stopping at another location.
“Here, the driver exited the vehicle and crossed the road,” DCP Singh said. “This spot was where we obtained a partial number plate. After sustained efforts, the autorickshaw was correctly identified as bearing the number DL1RAA 9327 and its driver on the night of Oct 10-11 was determined to be Prabhu Mahto.” The registration details were used to track down the driver. An officer explained that Mahto’s mobile location was tracked and matched the spot in the CCTV footage.
Sustained efforts were made to locate the accused and Mahto was arrested on Oct 30. He was interrogated at length and he helped the cops identify and nab the second accused, Pramod alias Babu, on Nov 2. The third man alleged to be involved in the crime, Mohmmad Shamshul, was arrested on Nov 4. The successful manhunt had taken 21 days.
“We will ensure the accused get the harshest punishment under the law,” said a senior officer. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, anyone accused of involvement in gangrape can be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term that is not less than 20 years and which may extend to life, which will mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life. A fine may also be charged additionally.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
