The 21-year-old woman was allegedly abducted, gang-raped and paraded on a street in east Delhi’s Kasturba Nagar on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old woman, who was allegedly abducted, gang-raped and paraded on a street in east Delhi’s Kasturba Nagar area on Wednesday, was living in hiding for the past one and half months, after a juvenile who used to stalk her died by suicide, and the latter’s family started threatening her.

The woman’s family said she moved to Karkardooma village, nearly four kilometres from Kasturba Nagar, with her husband and child overnight after the 16-year-old boy’s family started threatening her, holding her responsible for the teenager’s death.

Her 17-year-old sister on Wednesday said nobody in the neighbourhood knew her elder sister’s address. She alleged that the family of the alleged stalker assaulted one of their relatives on January 19 when she refused to share the woman’s address.

The 17-year-old girl lives with her father who is bedridden after an accident. They alleged that they had informed the police and also given a written complaint after the January 19 assault, but no action was taken.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said, “A police team visited the area after receiving a call from the family. Both parties resolved the issue amicably in the presence of the police. We will find out what action was taken on the written complaint.”

Meanwhile, after Wednesday’s incident, the family of the woman has been provided with two police guards for their security, the DCP said.

The woman’s family said she got married to a sanitation worker in 2017. However, she mostly stayed at her parents’ home to take care of her ailing father and minor sibling. They were surviving on the income of the woman’s husband and her brother, who lives and works in south Delhi.

According to the family, the teenaged boy from the neighbourhood wanted to be in a relationship with her and began stalking her.

My sister repeatedly told him that she was happily married, and did not want to have anything to do with him, but he kept stalking her. He also used to threaten her,” the woman’s sister said.

On November 12, the teenager left home saying that he was going to kill himself, and ran towards the nearby railway tracks. His family members ran behind him to stop him.

But before they could reach him, he was overrun by a train, police said quoting statements from the woman victim’s family members. 

Police said since the day the boy died, his family members have been abusing and threatening the woman.

The woman’s father said, “My daughter stopped living with us and shifted to her in-laws’ home in north-east Delhi. However, the family members of the boy got hold of that address and began visiting there and threatening her her and her in-laws.

Then, my daughter moved to Karkardooma about a month and a half ago. Except my family members, nobody knew her new address. The boy’s family members often threatened and pressured us to give them that address.”

East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir tweeted on Thursday that he has talked to senior police officers and demanded swift action in the case, “Have spoken to DCP Shahdara over barbaric assault on the 20-year-old woman. Some arrests have been made & more will follow.

I assure that these animals (men & women) will not be spared. Every kind of support will be provided to the survivor,” Gambhir tweeted.