No CCTV, poor lighting: Security lapses at Delhi park where teen was gangraped
The gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl at a park in Delhi's Kalkaji area has raised questions over security at the site, which has no CCTV cameras at its entry or exit gates and is poorly lit after dusk.
Investigators have also found that portions of the Aastha Kunj Park's boundary wall have collapsed, while some gates are not manned by guards.
The Delhi Police Commissioner visited the crime scene.
The three accused β Asif, Hemant and his younger brother Mukesh β were arrested on Tuesday.
While Hemant, a lawyer, and Mukesh, a final-year B.Sc. Mathematics student, were picked up from their house, Asif was taken into custody following an exchange of fire with police near the back gate of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, around 50 metres from the campus.
He sustained a gunshot wound to his leg.
The three men knew each other as they lived and worked in the vicinity of the park and frequently met there.WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY
According to the police, the girl and her 17-year-old male friend had visited Kalkaji Mandir before entering Aastha Kunj Park through Gate No. 7 in the evening.
Inside the park, the three accused approached the teens, claimed to be policemen and told them they were doing something wrong and could face a police case.
The men then separated the girl from her friend and took her to an old, dilapidated stone structure. Police said the accused took turns restraining the boy while the others raped the girl.
As he was raping her, Asif threatened the girl with a firearm and knife, while they beat up her friend.
At around 8.45 pm, a PCR call was made from his mobile phone.ONLINE CLASSES, SOLIDARITY MARCH
In the wake of the police encounter, the LSR College cancelled regular classes and shifted them online for Wednesday, while students are set to organise a solidarity march for the survivor at 4 pm today.
The march will begin from the college gate, where one of the accused was reportedly encountered.
Organisers said the protest is aimed at demanding justice for the minor and raising concerns over systemic failures that leave women vulnerable and without accountability.
They said the march would also assert women's right to move freely at night, walk safely through streets they use to access education and exercise autonomy over their bodies and lives.4TH RAPE CASE IN 2 WEEKS
The Kalkaji incident is the fourth reported rape case involving minors in Delhi in the last two weeks.
On Monday, a six-year-old girl was raped on Deshbandhu Gupta Road in central Delhi. The accused, identified as Ankit, was arrested, police said.
On September 17, an 11-year-old girl had stepped out of her house in Sadar Bazaar to buy a pencil and books when she was taken into a nearby tailoring shop by the owner.
Police said the tailor, Maqsood, restrained the girl by tying her hands and legs and raped her. He was subsequently arrested.
In another case, on September 10, a 17-year-old girl was found dead in Swaroop Nagar. She was being gang-raped, stabbed, and thrown in an open field.
Four people, including three minors, were held in connection with the case.- EndsPublished By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Sep 23, 2026 11:11 IST
