Delhi Police have arrested three people for gang-raping a 34-year-old mentally ill woman, officers familiar with the matter said on Thursday, weeks after she was found walking near Sarai Kale Khan on October 11, bleeding and partially dressed up

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Ravi Kumar Singh identified the accused as Prabhu Mahto, 28, a coach driver, Pramod Kumar alias Babu, 32, who works at a scrap metal dealer, and Mohammed Shamsul alias Raju, 29, a beggar who is physically challenged as he suffers from polio.

The three did not know each other but decided to rape the woman only because she was “visibly mentally unfit,” police said.

Investigators said all three were arrested last week. The woman, a resident of Odisha, is currently undergoing treatment for schizophrenia at AIIMS, they said.

Responding to the arrests, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, “Delhi Police has arrested three persons in connection with the rape case and seized the counter used in the crime.”

Giving details of the case, the police said on October 11, at around 3.15 am, a defense officer called the Sunlight Colony police station to state that he saw a partially clothed and bleeding woman near Sarai Kale Khan and expressed concern that he may have been sexually assaulted.

When the police reached the spot, they took her to AIIMS where she allegedly told doctors that she was raped by three unknown men. “But due to her mental condition, she did not cooperate in the probe later,” said DCP Singh.

A case under sections 70(1) (gang-rape) and 115 (causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered on October 11 and an investigation has been initiated.

First, the police checked the missing person records and found that the woman is a resident of Puri, Odisha and was reported missing in her home state on June 9.

“It was revealed that he came to Delhi on May 9 and started living with a friend in Kishangarh. However, due to her erratic behaviour, she stopped staying with her friend and then started living on the streets,” the DCP said.

While investigating the case, police said, the victim was not comfortable sharing details about her ordeal. Hence, the police got special permission from the AIIMS Trauma Center management and a woman officer disguised herself as a social worker, while another woman, originally from Odisha, disguised herself as a nurse to take care of the woman.

Eventually, investigators said, the woman shared that she had been assaulted by a tow truck driver and a man who could not walk.

Investigators then reviewed footage from more than 700 CCTV cameras in central, south and north Delhi and discovered footage of the woman exiting the Old Delhi railway station waiting room at 10.14pm on October 10. Her route was further examined and aided. of technical surveillance, the police found the autorickshaw in which the woman was allegedly raped.

On October 30, police said, coach driver Mahto was arrested from near his home in Kotla Mubarakpur. At his court, Kumar, a resident of Narela, and Shamsul, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, were arrested on November 2 and 4, respectively.

During interrogation, Kumar told the police that at the time of the incident, he and Shamsul were intoxicated and around midnight, both of them saw the woman sitting on the roadside and though they were strangers, they decided to assault her. sexually because he was “visibly mentally unfit”. .

At that time, police said, Mahto was crossing the area in his auto and saw the two raping the woman and instead of raising the alarm, he joined in.

Later, police said, Mahto forced her into the coach and took her to Sarai Kale Khan, parked the vehicle by the road and raped her again before throwing her on the street and fleeing.