Four held in Swaroop Nagar minor girl's rape and murder; three are juveniles

Four people, including three juveniles, have been arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a minor girl whose body was found in an open field in Swaroop Nagar, north Delhi, on September 13. The arrests were made on Thursday, within 72 hours of the discovery.

One of those held has been identified as Shivam, 19, also known as Sudama or Chuchu, a resident of Khadda Colony in Swaroop Nagar.

According to Outer North DCP Shobhit D. Saxena, the prime accused and the victim were in a relationship and all those involved were neighbourhood friends. They had met as a group, after which an argument broke out. The accused then sexually assaulted and killed the girl, the DCP said.

Investigators are also looking into whether the accused were under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance at the time.

The girl's body was found on the morning of September 13 in an open field near Jaipal Rana's field along Lal Boundary on Kushak Road. A team from the Swaroop Nagar police station reached the spot, and the deceased was initially unidentified. The body was sent for preservation and postmortem examination.

On the basis of the circumstances and material gathered in the preliminary investigation, a case was registered at Swaroop Nagar police station under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

More than 50 CCTV cameras were examined, and investigators spotted a suspected tempo moving in the vicinity around the relevant time. Its registration number could not be read clearly at first because of poor visibility and darkness. The team then tracked vehicle movement across multiple cameras and correlated the footage with field verification to establish the vehicle's identity and route.

Acting on the leads, a night-long search operation was carried out during the intervening night of September 15 and 16. The suspected tempo was eventually found parked in Khadda Colony. Its driver was identified and questioned, and further investigation led to the apprehension of the four people.

Two knives used in the crime, the clothes worn by the accused at the time of the incident and the suspected tempo have been recovered.

Further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and the individual role of each of the four arrested.