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A special report on Postmortem investigates serious concerns surrounding the safety of young people and women in public spaces across India.
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00:14In India's rapidly growing cities, how safe are young women and couples when they step into public spaces?
00:23For young women and young couples, a simple evening outside can sometimes come with an unexpected calculation.
00:33Where can we sit? Which road should we take? How late is too late? Who is watching us?
00:41A park, a roadside, a market, a quiet stretch of road.
00:46Places that should simply be part of everyday city life can sometimes and suddenly become places of fear.
00:55In Postmortem, we get you stories of how young women were preyed upon by men who exploited their vulnerability.
01:30Three men walk up to two 17-year-olds sitting inside a deli park.
01:36They do not introduce themselves by name. In fact, they introduce themselves by authority.
01:45The teenagers have come to Aastha Kunsh Park after visiting the Kalkaji Mandir.
01:52The men allegedly tell them that because they are minors, they can be booked for sitting there together.
01:58The police case is registered. Parents are being called. There might be trouble. The threats appear to work on the
02:08children.
02:09But there is one crucial fact that teenagers do not know.
02:14These three men are not policemen.
02:18And according to Delhi police, that lie led to a crime that has now shocked the entire city and raised
02:27that all-too-familiar question of women's safety in Delhi once again.
02:33It was Monday evening, September 21st.
02:37The 17-year-old girl, who lives in Faridabad, reaches Kalkaji Mandir with her 17-year-old male friend at
02:45around 7pm.
02:47After visiting the temple at approximately 7.30, they enter the adjoining Aastha Kunsh Park through gate number 7.
02:57They walk further inside and stop to talk.
03:01Then, three men, believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age, approach them.
03:09Police say the men pose as cops and accuse the teenagers of doing something wrong.
03:17The intimidation quickly escalates.
03:21According to the girl's complaint, the three separate her from her friend.
03:27One man restrains the boy.
03:29The girl is taken towards an old, dilapidated stone structure deeper inside the park.
03:37Police allege that the men then take turns restraining the boy while the others sexually assault the girl.
03:46One of the accused, Asif, allegedly threatens her with a firearm and even a knife.
03:52Her friend is also allegedly beaten up.
03:56The accused then leave, very conveniently.
04:00At around 8.45pm, a call reaches the police.
04:04The call is made from the boy's mobile phone.
04:08Officers from Amar Colony Police Station reach Aastha Kunsh.
04:13The girl is found with her friend.
04:16She is taken for medical examination.
04:20Her statement is recorded and a case is registered under the POCSO Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyai
04:28Sahita.
04:29Police now have a serious problem.
04:32The girl can describe the men, but the crime happened inside a huge park.
04:39The suspects have already disappeared.
04:43And then there is another complication.
04:46There are no CCTV cameras at the park's entry or exit gates.
04:52So investigators have to look outside the park.
04:56Police collect the descriptions of the suspects and the clothes that they were wearing.
05:01Teams begin checking cameras in the surrounding areas to find out more evidence.
05:07CCTV routes are mapped.
05:09Technical evidence is also gathered and examined.
05:13Forensic teams work at the crime scene.
05:16Piece by piece, investigators begin putting identities to the descriptions.
05:21Three names emerge.
05:24Asif, Hemant and Mukesh.
05:27Hemant and Mukesh are apparently brothers.
05:30Hemant is a lawyer while Mukesh is a final year BSc Mathematics student.
05:36And investigators establish something else.
05:40The three men know each other.
05:43They live and work around the area and, according to the police, frequently meet up in that park.
05:50By Tuesday morning, the hunt for Asif is moving quickly.
05:54At around 6 in the morning, police receive information about his movement in Southeast Delhi.
06:01A team, led by Inspector Rajendra Dagar, positions itself near the district magistrate's office road in Amar Colony.
06:11Police say Asif is travelling on a motorcycle.
06:15They move in.
06:17He is asked to surrender.
06:19What happens next is the police version of the events.
06:24Investigators say Asif pulls out a weapon and fires.
06:29Three rounds are fired.
06:31One bullet strikes a head constable's bulletproof jacket.
06:36Police fire back.
06:38Two shots are fired by the police.
06:40One hits Asif in the right leg.
06:43He falls.
06:44The motorcycle is also recovered.
06:46And Asif is taken to the hospital and placed under arrest.
06:50And look at where this confrontation takes place.
06:54Near the rear gate of Lady Sriram College for Women at approximately 50 metres from the campus.
07:04The other two suspects don't remain free for long.
07:08Police arrest Hemant and his younger brother Mukesh from their home.
07:13Now, within hours of the complaint, all three accused are in custody.
07:18They face serious allegations.
07:22But these remain allegations.
07:25Their guilt will have to be established in the court of law.
07:28For investigators, however, there is now another question.
07:33Why pretend to be policemen?
07:35Because according to the complaint, the deception was not incidental.
07:40It was the opening move.
07:42The alleged offenders did not initially need to physically overpower the teenagers.
07:49They allegedly used fear of the law.
07:52But there is another part of this story.
07:55And to understand it, India Today went back to Asta Kunsh Park.
08:01Not for the police version, for a ground reality check.
08:05And what the team found shifts the focus from the accused to the place where the crime allegedly happened.
08:22The police officer was not incidental.
08:40In the park, there is also a moment and a moment.
08:45And this is a place where the whole park is taking a round in this way and making a moment.
08:52So we are currently at the back gate, the same back gate of an esteemed institution,
08:58Lady Shriram College, which ranks among some of the top universities of this country.
09:02Number one, yes, there are CCTV cameras that are placed right at the gate.
09:06There are police patrolling vehicles that are there right behind me, if you can take a look.
09:12And yes, this street, if we are to talk about, it does have access to street lighting at regular gaps.
09:19But the question remains, the park that you can see on the other side of that street light,
09:24well, that is a highly secluded park that remains to be quite in the dark most often times.
09:31And it is a park that's most often used by students because on the other side of this park
09:36are the paying guest facilities that are accessed by these students itself.
09:40So currently, when we speak of the security measures, yes, it's in a condition which has been questioned by the
09:47police.
09:47Aasta Kunj is a large public park.
09:51It has several access points, but investigators found no CCTV cameras at its entry and exit gates.
10:00There are sections of the boundary wall that have completely collapsed.
10:05Some gates are not even manned.
10:07And after sunset, several stretches of the park are poorly lit.
10:13In other words, once you move away from the busier sections, surveillance thins out dramatically.
10:20Think about the contradiction here.
10:23When police began investigating the crime, they had to rely on CCTV cameras outside the park to trace the suspects.
10:31Inside the park, where the alleged crime took place, the surveillance system that could have recorded who entered, who left
10:40and when,
10:41simply wasn't there at the gates.
10:43The police themselves acknowledged this vulnerability.
10:47Joint Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar said that the park is very large, can be entered from several points, has
10:55broken boundary walls, unguarded gates and poorly illuminated areas.
11:01This wasn't a hidden private property.
11:05This was a public park in South Delhi, near Kalkaji Mandir, near residential neighbourhoods, near major educational institutions.
11:16And yet after dark, parts of it could become almost invisible.
11:21The location of Asif's arrest adds another layer.
11:24An alleged offender in a sexual assault case is caught after an exchange of fire close to one of Delhi's
11:32best known women's colleges.
11:34The reaction at Lady Sriram College is immediate.
11:38The incident triggers anxiety among students and renews demands for better security and policing around the area.
11:47And this case is not unfolding in isolation.
11:50The Kalkaji case is the fourth reported sexual assault case involving a minor in Delhi in less than two weeks.
11:59The cases are unrelated.
12:02Their circumstances may be different.
12:04But their proximity in time has again put the safety of girls in the capital under scrutiny.
12:11When there is an accident, the women's safety is very questioned.
12:17There is a pink boot, but it is not functional.
12:20There is a park from Asif's arrest.
12:26There is a community list of people who masturbate openly.
12:30Just a few weeks back we got news about the Noida rape case, gang rape case.
12:36Then just a week after that we are getting to know that a decomposed body of a minor girl was
12:41found in the outskirts of Delhi.
12:43So we want to ask Delhi government, we also want to ask the centre because law and order is under
12:48the central government.
12:50Like whom are we supposed to go to?
12:55A safety audit of Delhi's parks has now been ordered covering lighting, security, patrolling and even cleanliness.
13:05Police have also been asked to strengthen patrolling around parks and reinforce women focused policing measures.
13:12One viral video has made the entire country cringe with disgust.
13:17Disgust for the men who brazenly molested a minor girl while her friend, also a minor, tried desperately to shield
13:25her.
13:26The rape in Delhi happened near a popular temple in a park under the shadows of popular Delhi landmark.
13:33The molestation in Bihar's Jamui also happened in an area which is desolate but on the way to a popular
13:41getaway.
13:41Now we bring you the story of kids harassed by criminals and their misery made fodder for scrolling entertainment in
13:51social media by Random Handles.
13:54The Chinese government is often attended by individuals into a city like a dead mountain in a city called Islam.
14:04At least one of them is left to throw that off.
14:07We are not supposed to lie to Muslims when the police are even here at At-A-Biz.
14:17The police ikon isguarding the police.
14:21Are you alright?
14:22The police do not come on.
14:23The police do not come on.
14:23The police do not come.
14:23The police do not come.
14:24The police do not come.
14:25It is around 6.30 in the evening.
14:28Two class 10th students are returning from Coaching in Jammui, Bihar.
14:33A boy and a girl, both minors, are travelling on a scooter near the Marwa Pahar area.
14:39Then a group of young men stops them.
14:43What follows is captured on camera.
14:46And that video will eventually become one of the most important pieces of evidence in this case.
14:53The students are allegedly surrounded and pulled off the scooter.
14:57The boy is grabbed by his collar.
15:00The girl is pulled by the neck.
15:02They are both abused and questioned.
15:05When the boy tries to intervene, the group allegedly turns on him.
15:10The two teenagers manage to get back towards their scooter.
15:14But the men keep following them.
15:16The girl is again pulled back into the mob.
15:20According to the police, the teenagers are then forced to apologise before being allowed to leave.
15:27The incident lasts only a few minutes.
15:30But someone is recording it as well.
15:33And that changes the investigation.
15:36The incident takes place on September 19th.
15:39Initially, there is no immediate police complaint from the two students.
15:44Then the video begins circulating on social media.
15:48Police now take note.
15:50The students are traced.
15:52Their statements are recorded.
15:55An FIR is registered under the POCSO Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Niai Sahita.
16:02A special investigation team is also formed.
16:05And investigators begin identifying the people seen in the footage.
16:09Police eventually identify around seven people who are connected to the incident.
16:16Three are minors.
16:17Three suspects are arrested first.
16:20But there are two key accused also.
16:23One is Nandan Yadav and the other is Hari Ram Yadav.
16:27Police receive information that two men are hiding near the Kewil River, close to the Jammui-Lakhi-Sarai border.
16:36A team moves in.
16:38According to police, the suspects try to escape.
16:41And Nandan is shot in the leg during the operation.
16:45Hari Ram is injured while allegedly attempting to flee.
16:49Both are arrested.
16:50Our report from the area found that the two men were known around the river belt and worked in jobs
16:57linked to sand transportation.
17:00Now, while police are tracking the accused, the same footage is spreading online.
17:04And this creates another legal problem.
17:08The video reveals the identity of a minor victim.
17:11Bihar's cyber police registers a separate case against around 120 social media profiles
17:18for allegedly circulating the footage and revealing the minor girl's identity.
17:24Earlier, police had already begun taking action against accounts that were sharing the video.
17:30The social media profiles, the Navaalik Pidita's attention to the video, the video is being filtered by the Poxo Act,
17:40the 23rd, IT Act, and the Jovenial Justice Act, the 24th, and 24th, and 24th, and 24th, and 24th.
18:09The message from investigators is clear. Do not circulate it because the girl in that video is a minor and
18:19a victim. She is not content.
18:22The same recording that helped investigators pursue the accused also exposed the victim to thousands of strangers.
18:31The camera became evidence. Social media turned it into a spectacle.
18:37On September 23rd, accused Hari Ramyada was produced before a court.
18:41As police were taking him back after the hearing, a lawyer approached him. The lawyer slapped him.
18:48Police personnel were present and that incident was also filmed.
18:54And once again, another moment connected to the case was captured on camera.
18:59This time, however, the person being assaulted was an accused in this case.
19:04The investigation is continuing. Another video outside a courtroom. Almost every stage has been captured on camera but the most
19:26important footage is the one that should never have become public.
19:31The recording of a minor being humiliated. Once uploaded, it can be copied, forwarded, downloaded, reposted, deleted from one account
19:42and reappear on another.
19:45For the victim, there is no simple way to switch it off.
19:49Jamuil leaves behind a question that is much harder to answer.
19:53Why did a group of young men feel entitled to stop two school children on the road in the first
20:00place?
20:01And why did someone feel entitled to record it?
20:05The first act was an assault. The recording preserved it.
20:10The forwarding multiplied its reach.
20:14And for a minor victim, that digital trail can last far longer than the original incident.
20:21Now, incident of a confrontation and harassment of young people by entitled men who claim to be moral policing the
20:30young.
20:30In each of these incidents, the vulnerability of young friends who were spending time together was exploited to gain power
20:38over them.
20:39This incident is from Odisha.
20:42And it happened just a day after Jamuil.
21:07A woman is crying on a road in Dhenganad.
21:12Around her are several men.
21:14She keeps saying one thing and it is a plea to let them go.
21:20But the men don't move away.
21:23Instead, the confrontation continues.
21:26The footage is recorded on a mobile phone and later spreads across social media.
21:32The location is the road connecting Dhenkanal and Kapilash.
21:36The date is September 18th and what happened there has now led to three arrests.
21:43The woman was travelling with a male companion, a young boy.
21:47According to police, they had visited the Kapilash area and were returning when a group of local men confronted them.
21:56The reported trigger was that some of the men considered an objectionable situation involving the couple.
22:06An argument followed.
22:08The couple moved on.
22:10But the confrontation allegedly continued on the road.
22:14The woman was surrounded.
22:16Her companion was also confronted and allegedly assaulted.
22:20The video shows the woman trying to persuade the men to let them go.
22:26That footage is now one of the key pieces of evidences in this matter.
22:32Whatever the group believed they had witnessed, they were not police officers.
22:38They had no authority to stop strangers and punish them.
22:43If someone believes an offence has occurred, there is a legal route.
22:47Call the police.
22:49What the law does not provide is a license for a group of people to surround someone, threaten them or
22:56use force.
22:57And that is precisely what investigators now have to establish in this case.
23:03Who stopped the couple?
23:04Who followed them?
23:06Who assaulted them?
23:08And who recorded this incident?
23:10The incident itself happened on September 18th.
23:14But the video surfaced later and spread rapidly.
23:18Once police took cognizance, investigators began identifying the people visible in the footage.
23:25Three men were later arrested.
23:28They were identified as Saroj Nayak, who is 41 years old.
23:32Samir Nayak, 37 years old.
23:34And Sangram Rat, alias Durga.
23:37Police say Saroj and Samir are from Bania village under Gondia police station.
23:43While Sangram Rat is from Raipur in Mandar.
23:47The most basic question is, this case is not complicated.
23:52If a person believes a couple is behaving improperly, what gives them the right to intervene physically?
23:59There is a difference between objecting to someone's behaviour and taking control of their movement.
24:06Between expressing disapproval and using force.
24:10Between reporting an alleged offence and deciding the punishment yourself.
24:16The Dhenkanal investigation now has to establish where that line was crossed and by whom.
24:24That's all we have for you in post-mortem in India today.