Image used for representation
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Four individuals, including three juveniles, were arrested on Thursday (September 17, 2026) in connection with the rape and murder of a minor girl whose body was found in an open field in Swaroop Nagar, north Delhi, on September 13.
The accused were apprehended within 72 hours of the discovery of the body. One of the accused has been identified as Shivam (19) alias Sudama alias Chuchu, a resident of Khadda Colony in Swaroop Nagar.
Sources in the Outer North police said the accused and the victim were known to each other and were neighbourhood friends.
“The prime accused, Shivam, and the victim girl were in a relationship, and all five of them were neighbourhood friends. They had all met, following which an argument erupted among the group. The accused then sexually assaulted and killed the girl,” said Outer North DCP Shobhit D. Saxena.
Police are also investigating whether the accused were under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance at the time of the incident.
The body was found on the morning of September 13 in an open field near Jaipal Rana’s field along Lal Boundary, Kushak Road, following which a team from the Swaroop Nagar police station reached the spot. The deceased was initially unidentified.
The body was sent for preservation and postmortem examination.
Based on the circumstances and material collected during the preliminary investigation, police registered a case under the Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Swaroop Nagar police station.
More than 50 CCTV cameras were scrutinised during which the investigators noticed a suspected tempo moving in the vicinity around the relevant time. Its registration number, however, could not initially be read clearly because of poor visibility and darkness.
The team then tracked the movement of vehicles across multiple CCTV cameras and correlated the footage with field verification to establish the identity and route of the suspected vehicle, according to the police.
Based on the leads developed during the investigation, a night-long search operation was conducted during the intervening night of September 15 and 16. The suspected tempo was eventually traced parked in Khadda Colony, Swaroop Nagar.
Police identified and questioned its driver, following which further investigation led to the apprehension of the four persons.
Two knives used in the crime, clothes worn by the accused at the time of the incident and the suspected tempo have been recovered.
Further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and ascertain the individual role of each of the four apprehended persons.
Published – September 18, 2026 08:51 am IST
