: The vast stretch of fields in Aman Vihar’s Prem Nagar, where two teenage girls were gangraped on Wednesday, are a hunting ground for criminals.
In the daytime, the fields serve as a short-cut to the nearby Mundka metro station. But come sunset, few dare venture into these barren lands were Ramleela is held once a year.
Those “few” are mostly young couples looking for private time together, away from the glaring eyes of the densely populated localities surrounding these fields.
‘Couples blackmailed’
“There have been incidents of men capturing the intimate moments of these couples on their mobile phones and blackmailing them after that,” alleged Subodh, a man who works in a factory nearby.
Another worker, Kamal, said the targeted couples rarely dare to take on these goons. “They are threatened to be identified if they raise their voice. So, girls are harassed fearlessly while their male friends are left hoping that their love affair does not spill out,” said Kamal.
The police acknowledge that this stretch of fields is prone to incidents of snatching, but claim no major crime was reported from the spot earlier.
Locals, however, choose to differ.
“Just two-three months ago, a girl was raped inside a car that the accused had driven into the fields. Over a year ago, a man was killed and his body dumped in a well here. A few years ago, an 11-year-old girl’s body was found in a sack in these fields,” said Dharmender, another local.
Lack of police presence
In spite of the shocking crimes, the area has limited police presence.
Consisting of 108 colonies – all unauthorised – and a population of over eight lakh, the area is manned by barely around 100 police personnel, less than 40 of them out on the streets.
Not surprisingly, 35 rapes have already been reported at the Aman Vihar police station this year, more than a third jump in the same period last year, making it among the worst in terms of women’s safety. With 40 rapes in 2014, the police station was the most notorious in the city that year.
“The socio-economic factors, combined with the dense population of this area, could facilitate such crimes,” said Vikramjit Singh, DCP (Outer).
