In yet another shocking crime against women in the capital, a 23-year-old para-medical student was admitted to a hospital in a "critical condition" on Monday after being allegedly raped and brutally assaulted by four men. The four also attacked her male friend before throwing the two out of a bus, where the crime took place.
The victim, who is pursuing the course in Uttarakhand and is in the capital for her internship, was battling for life at the Safdarjung Hospital where she was rushed late last night after the incident which sparked outrage.
In a late night development, Ram Singh, the driver of the bus in which the girl was raped, was arrested. Singh was one of the persons who raped the girl, a senior police official said.
Both the girl and her male friend, who had boarded the chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka in south Delhi around 9.45 pm to Palam, were assaulted with an iron rod by the men after the two resisted before they were dumped on the roadside near Mahipalpur flyover, police said on Monday.
Police have identified four people, who allegedly raped the girl, and have already prepared sketches of two of them. Police also released CCTV footage of the suspected bus with an appeal to the public to help them locate the vehicle.
Singh was the first to be arrested, police said and added that his brother was driving the bus when he raped the girl along with others.
Chhaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, told reporters, that both the girl and boy had "put up a fight" with the men.
She said the bus which the duo boarded was not in commercial service and they were picked up by the driver from Munirka bus stop for Rs 10 each to be dropped at Palam.
"When they boarded the bus, there were a few other men as well in the vehicle. There was an argument between the male friend and others...As of now, we can confirm the involvement of four men. They beat them up brutally using iron rods," she said.
She also said seven people appeared to be inside the bus but only four were involved in the incident. Sharma said both victims are under treatment and police got some clues from the male friend.
The police official said the cops came to know of the incident after the victims were dumped near Mahipalpur flyover. They were rushed to AIIMS from where the girl was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital.
