“Maybe we should vacate our present house and leave for a safer space . Our trauma and physical wounds will take some time to heal,” said the father of a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was shot at near her home on Thursday afternoon by a man who had been stalking her for the last three months.
Two accomplices — aged 19 and 24 — of the main accused, Ali, have been arrested, said the police. A search is on to trace the main accused.
The father said it was difficult for his family to stay in the same neighbourhood where they lived in constant fear of the accused, who not just stalked the girl but also threatened the rest of the members.
“Every morning, my daughter, a student of Class XI, would complain that a man whom she met on Instagram four months ago had been following her to school and home despite her refusing to talk to him,” he said. The father decided to accompany the girl to the school but did not lodge a police complaint as the accused was a feared man in the area.
He said that the entire colony knew that the man was stalking his daughter. “He would often stand outside our house and wait for her. He would also threaten her to talk to him,” he said.
No formal complaint
“On July 4 this year, when my daughter wasn’t home, Ali asked his friends to throw stones at our house to scare us,” he said, adding that they approached the local police but did not file a formal complaint.
According to the father, when the victim confronted the accused, he threatened to shoot her. “He would call my wife and threaten her as well. My daughter started staying indoors as she felt scared all the time,” he said. For the next few days, the accused did not bother the victim, but after some time, he was back, said the father.
On Thursday afternoon, the victim, her mother and two of her cousins were on their way home from school when the accused and two of his friends started following them on their motorcycle. When the girl reached her neighbourhood, the accused shot her and fled the spot.
At 3.47 p.m., a call was received regarding a gunshot injury to a girl, the police said, adding that the victim was rushed to Batra hospital for treatment.
A case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC has been registered. The victim received an injury on her shoulder and is currently undergoing treatment, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Benita Mary Jaiker said.
The Delhi Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and sought a copy of the FIR registered, the details of the accused arrested, and a detailed action-taken report on the matter.
