A horrific case of sexual assault has been reported from Northeast Delhi where a 13-year-old minor boy was allegedly forced to undergo a sex change surgery and repeatedly raped by his four predators, who later pushed him into prostitution and begging.
According to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), the harrowing ordeal of the teenage boy began after he met the accused at a dance event in Laxmi Nagar about three years ago. The accused befriended the boy Raju (name changed) and took him with them to Mandawali on the pretext of providing him dance training.
After being taken to Mandawali, the accused made Raju participate in a few dance programs and also paid him for the performances. However, in due course of time, the accused told the boy that he would now have to live and work with the group.
The victim was drugged and raped multiple times before being pushed into prostitution and begging
Following this, the accused started administering drugs on Raju. He was forcefully made to undergo sex reassignment surgery. After the surgery, he was administered hormonal therapy to accelerate the transition. He was barely 13-years-old at that time.
The DCW stated that after the sex-change operation, the accused and his aides began to sexually assault the teenage boy. Raju was then pushed into prostitution. The accused brought customers who would sexually exploit him on several occasions. It is alleged that Raju was also forced to beg at traffic signals posing as a eunuch. The accused also lured people disguised as women, after which they assaulted and robbed their customers.
All along, the accused threatened the teenage boy that they would kill his family if he told anyone anything. Later, the accused managed to get Raju’s friend to also join them, the Delhi Commission for Women revealed. That boy was also assaulted, and culprits were preparing to get him also operated.
In March 2020, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed for the first time to contain the deadly spread of Coronavirus, Raju and his friend managed to escape. Raju went to his mother and narrated his ordeal. Raju’s family got a rented accommodation and started living there with the boys.
For a few months, they were safe, until the accused found out their whereabouts in December. The enraged men ambushed the boys and his family, vandalised the house they were living in, and took them away. The four accused then took turns in raping Raju and his friend, DCW said, adding that Raju’s mother was also threatened at gunpoint.
Two days later, Raju and his friend managed to escape again. This time, they hid at the New Delhi railway station. The next day, a lawyer found the children and brought them to the DCW.
Delhi police arrest two accused, in the lookout for two others
Raju revealed that a few policemen he met had pressured him to not file a complaint, saying that if a case is registered then he too would have to go to jail. The DCW, however, took prompt action in the case and informed the police who then registered a case under relevant sections of the law. The police have arrested two accused and efforts are on to nab the other two.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal said: “This incident is absolutely shocking and scary. A small boy was forcibly operated and raped by several men. Luckily, the victims were able to escape and got saved. We are now working on the rehabilitation of the victims. Police need to arrest all the accused as soon as possible and all of them should be given the strongest punishment.”
