Delhi rape-murder case accused shot in leg while attempting to escape

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the Delhi Police were escorting the accused, Bablu, to the crime spot on the Gurugram-Faridabad road to reconstruct the sequence of events.

In Short

• The incident occurred when Delhi Police was escorting accused to crime scene
• He tried to flee from spot, prompting the police to open fire
• The accused raped and murdered an 11-year-old on Monday

An app-based cab driver accused of kidnapping, raping, and murdering an 11-year-old girl in Delhi’s Mehrauli was shot in the leg during a police encounter after he tried to flee custody.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the Delhi Police were escorting the accused, Bablu, to the crime spot on the Gurugram-Faridabad road to reconstruct the sequence of events. Taking advantage of the situation, the accused made a desperate bid to escape, forcing the police to open fire.

The case dates back to Monday morning at Mehrauli’s CDR Chowk, where the minor was sleeping on a footpath with her family. Around 5:00 am, an intoxicated Bablu, who was awaiting a ride, snatched the sleeping girl and fled from the spot.

The victim’s father woke up and chased the speeding vehicle, but the accused managed to flee. Following a PCR call, the local police scanned CCTV footage, which initially showed only the vehicle's shadow. By matching the route timeline with GPS data requested from app-based aggregators, police tracked and arrested Bablu in Vikaspuri within four hours.

During interrogation, Bablu confessed that he drove the girl 20 kilometres away to a secluded jungle area. After restraining her inside the car, he raped her and strangled her to death using a gamcha (cloth). He then callously picked up a regular passenger from Gurugram, dropped them in West Delhi, and was subsequently arrested.

The accused already has five criminal cases registered against him there. Following the encounter and subsequent hospitalisation of the accused, the Delhi Police stated they are issuing strict notices to app-based taxi companies to investigate how a driver with a known criminal background was operating on their platform.

- Ends