Children playing in the Anand Vihar building, where a five-year-old was gangraped, had heard her screaming and called for help.
“Four to five children were playing on the stairs when the girl’s cries drew their attention. Recognising her voice, the children began shouting to raise an alarm. That forced the men to let her go,” the victim’s aunt told The Hindu .
According to residents of Anand Vihar’s JJ Colony, the children who raised the alarm included the son of one of the assailants. Not saying much, he nodded to affirm that he had heard the victim’s cries and had started crying himself out of fear.
Neighbours say they saw the girl running out of the building minutes later. “She was bleeding from her private parts and nose. They had repeatedly smacked her on her face when she resisted. As soon as I held her, she fainted,” said her aunt, pointing to blood stains on her saree.
When she regained consciousness, she named one Prakash (39), who lives on the top floor of the three-storey building with his wife and three children. The victim lives with her parents and three-year-old brother in a room on the first floor of the same building.
Her mother does odd jobs at bungalows nearby, while her father is employed at a garments shop. The couple was at work when their daughter was allegedly gangraped around 5.30 p.m. on Friday.
The girl was playing with her brother when Prakash allegedly lured her to his room by offering her chocolates. According to DCP (East) B S Gurjar, there were two more men in the room — Revati and Sitaram — who is the owner of the building. “They were drinking inside at the time of the offence. All three have been arrested,” said Mr. Gurjar.
The girl was rushed to Dr. Hedgewar hospital, which referred her to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital considering the seriousness of her injuries. Her father said that though the bleeding continued on Saturday, her condition had improved.
