Police bank on forensic evidence in child rape case

“Focus on DNA analysis through which the accused can be scientifically connected to crime scene and victim”

Having nabbed both the accused in the brutal gang-rape of a five-year-old girl at Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi, the police are now banking on forensic evidence to establish their link with the victim and the scene of crime.

Soon after the girl was traced to the ground floor of the building, where she lives with her family on the first floor, a crime team was dispatched to the scene of crime to look for evidence on April 17. “The police found that the victim was bleeding from the private parts. She was immediately shifted to Swami Dayanand Hospital and forensic experts were called in to lift evidence from the room that was taken on rent by main accused Manoj Sah (22) a few days ago,” said a police officer.

The police have seized liquor bottles apart from other articles from the spot. The three candles and a hair-oil bottle which had been inserted inside the girl by the accused persons have also been seized and sent for forensic examination.

“Our main focus is on DNA analysis through which the perpetrators can be scientifically connected to the crime scene and the victim. Such concrete evidence would be incontrovertible in the court during the trial of the accused. We have obtained four days’ custody of the second accused, Pradeep (19), and have also sought production of main accused Manoj. While their DNA samples will be obtained following set procedures, the duo would be confronted to ascertain the sequence of events,” said the officer.

Manoj is presently in judicial custody. While the police plan to get his test-identification done, they know that now it would not hold the desired evidentiary weight for the prosecution since his photograph was published in a section of media after his arrest. However, Pradeep’s test-identification can still be done.

While Manoj was arrested from his in-laws’ place at Muzaffarpur, Pradeep was traced to his maternal uncle’s residence at Lakhisarai in Bihar. Investigations have so far revealed that on April 15, the two accused were in an inebriated state when Manoj allegedly lured the victim into his room and then he along with his accomplice subjected her to unnatural sex before attempting to strangle her.

According to the police, Manoj and Pradeep then boarded a train to Chhapra in Bihar, from where they went to the former’s native place to evade detection. “After the girl’s condition improves, she would be produced before the Child Welfare Committee. Her statement would also be recorded,” said the officer.