Delhi Police have filed a 450-page chargesheet before the Saket Court against three accused in the Astha Kunj Park case, nearly two months after a 17-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at knifepoint in the park in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji area on September 22, ANI reported on Saturday (November 14). The survivor is not being identified, in line with the law on cases involving minors.

Source: ANI

The chargesheet names three accused — Asif, Hemant and Mukesh — and cites 55 witnesses, including the survivor and her friend, who was present at the time of the alleged incident, according to ANI. Police have invoked charges of gang rape, criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 6 and 17 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

PTI had reported on November 7 that the chargesheet would rely on time-stamped CCTV footage and grabs showing the movements of the accused, forensic evidence, witness statements and a test identification parade, with around 50 documents including the forensic examination report. A senior police officer told PTI the case was being closely monitored by senior officials at the Delhi Police headquarters and that a special public prosecutor had been appointed.

According to earlier police reporting of the case, the girl had visited the Kalkaji temple with a friend on her birthday when the three men allegedly posed as police personnel, threatened the pair and assaulted her; a PCR call was made at about 8.45 pm. All three accused were arrested in September and have since been in judicial custody, which the Saket court extended in October. Police have also said a separate case was registered against accused Asif in connection with an alleged attempt on a police team during his arrest. All of these are allegations that will now be tested in court; the accused have not been convicted.