A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Delhi following the brutal killing of a 16-year-old girl in public, which was captured on CCTV.
Warning: This article contains descriptions and an image which some readers may find distressing
Footage of the attack showed a man repeatedly stabbing the girl. He then picked up a slab of stone lying nearby and proceeded to strike her on the head.
The CCTV clip, which has circulated widely online and led to outrage across India, showed several people walking by as the violent attack unfolded.
The incident was captured on camera in a lane located in the Shahbad Dairy area of Delhi’s Rohini.
Delhi police arrested a suspect, who they identified as Sahil, from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, several hours after the attack.
Police said the pair were in a relationship and had been seen arguing before the attack on Sunday evening.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The victim was understood to be on her way to a birthday party of her friend’s son when the attack took place.
When officers arrived at the scene, her body was found in a pool of blood.
Preliminary findings of a post-mortem found the girl suffered a ruptured skull during the attack.
It also said she was stabbed a total of 16 times, news agency ANI reported.
Speaking to ANI, the girl’s father said: “My daughter was stabbed many times, her head was also bludgeoned into pieces.
“We demand stringent punishment for the accused.”
The victim’s mother said he was not known to the family.
She said they had tried to ask the girl about her boyfriend, but she did not reveal anything.
“We never saw Sahil. We demand justice for our daughter,” she said.
Police officer Kumar Singh said in a statement: “Sahil and the deceased were in a relationship but yesterday they had a quarrel. On Sunday, the deceased was planning to attend her friend Neetu’s son’s birthday. The accused Sahil intercepted her and stabbed her multiple times.”
He said police had detained the suspect and are further investigating the matter.
A friend of the victim said the 16-year-old and Sahil “had been fighting for quite some time and were not talking to each other”.
“It was my daughter’s birthday, so she [the victim] had gone shopping. She bought clothes and said she was going to meet another friend of hers. But she never came back,” Neetu added, claiming the two were “close friends” and that the teen lived with her.
Swati Maliwal, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief, said that Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and a notice has been issued to the police over the attack.
She said: “A 16-year-old girl was stabbed 40 to 50 times and then was hit by a stone multiple times, after which she died. All this has been captured on CCTV. Several people saw this but did not pay heed.
“Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls. I appeal to the central govt to call a high-level meeting with Union HM, Delhi LG, DCW chief and Delhi CM.”
