“They left 3 minors in his care, but he betrayed them”

The police are examining what could have gone wrong in a span of few hours between the 17-year-old who was allegedly raped and their 20-year-old neighbour, the prime suspect in the case, as he always shared cordial relations with the entire family.

This purported amity featured in the accounts of everyone — from relatives to the landlady and even the police. In fact, both the family and the suspect took the adjacent rooms on rent the same day — November 2. However, the family and the suspect knew each other for the past several months and had been neighbours in another area in Swaroop Nagar, from where they moved to their current accommodation.

“When I asked the girl’s parents about the suspect [name changed], they said they would get her married to him. Her father and mother did not earn a lot, while the suspect, who worked in a unit manufacturing tandoors, was relatively better off. He would also help them financially,” said the landlady.

Relatives mostly remained tight-lipped about this equation, but admitted to the fact that the suspect had free access to the victim’s house, something he allegedly took advantage of.

“He would visit their house to watch television and their kitchens were common too. How much the family trusted him was apparent from the fact that they left three minors in his care. But he betrayed their trust,” said a female relative.