Minor girl raped, shot at and dumped in empty well; 3 detained

New Delhi: Two days after a 16-year-old girl was found dumped in an empty well after allegedly being raped and shot at in Greater Noida, three youth were detained on Monday for their suspected role in the crime. While one of the three accused is a resident of Ghaziabad, the other two live in Greater Noida. They are aged between 18-20 years, said a police official.

The minor victim was allegedly abducted from west Delhi's Mohan Garden area, raped for around 13 days and shot at by the accused when she tried to escape from a room in Greater Noida where she was held captive, he said. One of the suspects was known to the girl and he is believed to have abducted her on November 22 when she went out to purchase milk. Preliminary investigation also revealed that the girl talked to the suspect over phone the previous night, police said.

A case of abduction was reported in Uttam Nagar police station after the girl went missing by her family. Giving more details of the crime, the police said that the three accused took the victim from one location to another in Greater Noida, where they allegedly raped her for around 13 days. When she tried to escape on Saturday, the perpetrators caught her and shot her. The bullet hit her chest and the girl was dumped in an empty well in the village, police said.

She was later rescued by residents of Salempur Gurjar village in Greater Noida, who also informed the police about the incident. The police stated that the girl was recuperating and her statement has been recorded. "We are questioning the suspects and the entire case is likely to be transferred to Delhi Police," said DCP (West) Pushpendra Kumar.

Police noted that there were a lot of discrepancies in the versions of the victim, her family and the suspects in the case. All have to be cross-examined before they arrive at a conclusion, they said. We are yet to find the weapon used in firing at the victim, they added. A case has also been registered at Greater Noida police station under relevant sections of the law in the incident, police said.