87-Year-Old Bedridden Woman Raped By Sweeper - India Bytes

New Delhi: Delhi Police has arrested a 30-year-old sweeper for allegedly raping an 87-year-old bedridden woman after breaking into her house in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar. The accused has been identified as Ankit and he worked in Tilak Nagar’s nearby areas, police said on Tuesday.

According to police, the incident took place on Sunday night when the woman’s daughter had gone out for a while.

In a tweet, the Delhi Police said, “The case of sexual assault of elderly lady in Tilak Nagar has been solved. Culprit in this blind case nabbed within 16 hours. Victim’s mobile phone recovered from him. Accused lives in nearby locality and works as a sweeper.”

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Prashant Gautam was quoted as saying that they received a report on Monday regarding the sexual assault of an elderly woman. After receiving the information, a team managed to zero in on the accused within 16 hours.

The police further said the accused was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

The police had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. A case has been registered under sections 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 376 (Punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to officials.

The elderly woman’s family members had alleged that the police delayed action and did not take their complaint, a charge denied by officials. Police had said that only a complaint of theft was lodged on Sunday night and a case was registered “promptly” on its basis at the Tilak Nagar police station, News 18 reported.

On Monday, the complainant alleged that she was also sexually assaulted and the relevant IPC sections were added to the case. According to the woman’s family members, the accused broke into the house. After the elderly woman spotted and questioned him, he said he worked with a gas agency and was called to the house for some work, the police had said.

When the woman tried to raise an alarm as she found him to be suspicious, the accused attacked her, sexually assaulted her and stole her mobile phone, her family members had told the police. After the woman’s daughter got back home, she found her injured and approached the police, the family members had said.