Dalit Girl Suffocated To Death By Accused Priest: Police On Delhi Cantt Rape Case

Delhi Cantt Rape Case: Disturbing details have come out after more than a month of alleged rape and murder of a 9-year-old Dalit girl in Delhi's Old Nangal area. The Delhi Police have told court that the girl died of suffocation as he accused man had put his hand over her mouth, reports say.

Trigger warning: The article contains graphic details of brutal sexual assault and murder

The police in its statement in court said, "The accused Radhey Shyam kept his hand on the mouth of the deceased due to which she could not breathe and died of suffocation." The co-accused persons revealed the details to the police.

The court has observed the disclosure statement in the charge sheet filed by the Delhi police while deciding the compensation for the girl's family. Judge Ashutosh Kumar in his order of September 14 directed the New Delhi Legal Service Authority to immediately released Rs 2,50,000 to the mother of the deceased girl under the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme of 2018.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had informed the Court that the parents of the child are poor rag pickers, who earn less then Rs 8,000 in a month. The commission said that the family is facing loss of income after the girl's death and frequent visits for police investigations.

Disclosure statements by co-accused in Delhi Cantt rape case:

The police told the court that the accused persons have revealed that the priest Radhey Shyam had allegedly suffocated the girl to death by covering her mouth during sexual assault. With the help of another accused, Kuldeep Singh, he took the body out his room to the hall and kept it on a bench. The accused persons then allegedly cremated the dead body of the girl to eliminate the evidence or rape and murder.

In the charge sheet filed by Delhi police, they mentioned that the accused persons confessed the offence in front of people who had barged in the crematorium and asked questions about the burning pyre. Two witnesses had seen the main accused before the incident and their presence has been confirmed by the CCTV footage and call records. The police also revealed that the priest Radhey Shayam is "addicted to porn content and sexually arousing material."

Apart from the priest, the case has three more accused persons mentioned in the charge sheet, Kuldeep Singh, Laxmi Narayan and Salim Ahmed. All four of them are in judicial custody. The accused persons had earlier claimed that the girl died of electrocution by water cooler but when the police conducted a probe, no sign of short circuit was found.

The Special Investigation Team constituted in the case has stated that they have enough evidence against the accused persons in the case, as per reports. They also said that the Radhey Shyam used to get messages from the deceased girl. The accused persons have been charged for criminal intimidation, rape, murder and sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST act.

The minor girl was allegedly raped and then cremated without the consent the consent of her parents on August 1. The locals in the area and many across the country had protested against the brutal crime. The case was soon transferred to the crime branch speedy probe.