Woman drugged, raped and assaulted by e-rickshaw driver in Delhi | Latest News Delhi

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly drugged, attacked with a brick and raped by a 24-year-old e-rickshaw driver near New Delhi’s Sadar Bazar market on Sunday, police officials familiar with the case said on Thursday, adding that the accused had been arrested.

According to Manoj Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), the woman is originally from Bihar and was on her way to Punjab with her three-year-old son for a family function when the incident occurred. Her husband and other family members had already arrived in Punjab.

The woman arrived in Delhi on the morning of May 26 and decided to go shopping at Sadar Bazar as she had a few hours before her train to Punjab left in the evening.

At around 6.30 pm, she hired an e-rickshaw from Sadar Bazar to return to New Delhi railway station. “She felt dehydrated during the journey, so the e-rickshaw driver offered her a juice laced with drugs. Soon after, she lost consciousness,” said a police official familiar with the case.

The e-rickshaw driver, identified by police as Mohd Umer, then took her to a secluded parking lot near Sadar Bazar market and raped her. Police said the woman’s son was forced to sit in the e-rickshaw during the crime. After raping the woman, the accused picked up the child and left her near her mother. The child was found by locals holding her unconscious mother.

“She tried to defend herself against the attack, but he hit her on the head with a brick. The force of the attack was so strong that she collapsed,” the officer added.

Locals found her lying injured next to her son and called the police, who then took her to the hospital. “The woman was bleeding profusely. She was taken to the hospital and is stable. After recording her statement, she left for Punjab on Tuesday,” the DCP added. The woman sustained head injuries from the brick, police said, adding that she had to be given five to eight stitches on her head. She was discharged within a day of the incident

“We found that the woman’s phone and wallet were missing. A case of rape, robbery and assault has been registered against the unknown accused,” he said.

Investigators said the woman had no knowledge of the city and could not remember any details about the accused. “We had no witnesses either. We analyzed more than 500 surveillance images to find the accused,” Meena said.

The accused was arrested near Lok Nayak Hospital and confessed to the crime. “The e-rickshaw belongs to another person. The accused was found after the owner told investigators that he had rented out one of his vehicles to a friend. We have recovered the phone and wallet of Umer’s wife,” the DCP said.

Umer told investigators he “planned” to attack and rob a customer. “However, he also raped the woman and attacked her with a brick,” the senior officer added.

Police said Umer had cheated his customers before and stolen their wallets and phones. “We are questioning him to get more details about the case,” the officer said. DCP Meena said Umer does not own an e-rickshaw and rents it from different vehicle owners. He is a resident of a JJ colony in Minto Road.