According to the police version, the victim was raped at Nari Niketan. The police are now verifying the statement of 18-year-old , who hails from Nepal.

She reportedly told her fellow inmates in Nari Niketan that the victim, during her stay in Ashreya in March, had told her about the ‘trauma’ she went through after the rape. “She told me in Ashreya that one day when she was returning from school (referring to the Government Institute of Mentally Retarded Children) she was stopped near the gate by a Punjabi with a turban and beard. She then said that he forcibly took her to the bathroom, bolted the door and ‘committed a sinful act’,” Usha reportedly told police. “She told me she started bleeding then and was in pain.”

An interpreter was called to translate her statement from Nepali to Hindi.

Usha first told her friend Nagi at Nari Niketan about it.

Nagi then brought it to the notice of a lady constable, who informed the authorities.

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the UT police visited Nari Niketan on June 27 and recorded Usha’s statements.

A destitute, Usha was lodged in Ashreya in January this year when she was suspected to be mentally challenged. Later, her medical reports said she was ‘normal’. She was then shifted to Nari Niketan in the first week of June.

“We are still verifying her statements, as she was suspected to be mentally challenged. Her version is doubtful, but we are investigating if it can provide some vital clue,” said a senior police official requesting anonymity.

Statement confirms loopholes in police version

The second medical test report of the victim conducted by GMSH-16 on May 22 clearly says that the victim was nine weeks pregnant when she was shifted from Nari Niketan to Ashreya, indicating that she was in Ashreya when the rape took place.

Usha’s statement confirms the several loopholes in the police version.

The police have arrested four Nari Niketan employees, including a woman, for allegedly abetting the crime.

The statement is bound to have serious repercussions and can turn the tables on the police, as they have been asserting that the rape took place in Nari Niketan.