A five-year-old girl was raped on the US Embassy premises in India’s capital city New Delhi late last week, NDTV reported on Thursday. The accused - a driver - has been arrested and sent to judicial custody, police said.
The alleged incident took place on February 1 while the accused was taken into custody on Sunday.
“The suspect didn’t even expect that the girl would inform her parents or that anyone would approach the police,” a senior police officer told Hindustan Times. He was rounded up from his residence within the embassy premises, said Deputy Commissioner of New Delhi Police Eish Singhal.
According to the police, both the girl and the accused lived on the embassy premises. The girl’s father works as a housekeeping staff at the embassy. The accused, who is a driver by profession, does not work at the embassy, but stays with his parents at the quarters there. His father is employed with the embassy.
The US embassy also clarified that the driver was not an employee. "We were deeply disturbed by the alleged misconduct. We promptly took action when we were informed of the allegation, and brought this matter to the attention of the police. Of course, we are cooperating fully with them," a spokesperson said.
“The incident took place on Saturday morning when the accused was alone at home. He noticed the girl playing outside her house,” said a police officer. “He lured her to his own house and raped her there.”
The officer said the girl’s mother suspected the assault after the minor returned home in an injured condition and complained of discomfort. “The girl’s mother is pregnant and she fell ill on getting to know of the crime,” said the police officer. “But she took the girl to a private clinic for treatment.”
The mother filed a complaint at Chanakyapuri police station on Sunday morning. “We got the child medically examined and treated at AIIMS trauma centre,” said the police. “The medical test confirmed rape.”