Delhi government hospital doctor raped by man she met online; accused arrested

The accused, Aarav Malik of Chhattarpur, had posed as an Indian army lieutenant to befriend the doctor and also other women on social media.

A 27-year-old doctor from a government hospital was allegedly drugged and raped by a man at her house in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave, said the police Monday, adding that the accused have been arrested.

According to police, the woman had met the accused Aarav Malik, a resident of Chhattarpur, on Instagram and they became friends.(PTI)

According to police, the woman had met the accused Aarav Malik, a resident of Chhattarpur, on Instagram and they became friends. She invited him to her house for a visit and he allegedly fed her some sweets laced with a sedative, which made her fall unconscious. He later raped her, said the police.

The incident took place on October 16 at the woman’s house. On Monday, police said Malik has been arrested and is in custody. They disclosed that he had posed as an Indian army lieutenant to befriend the doctor and also other women on social media.

A senior police officer said, “The woman is a doctor of a well-known hospital in South Delhi. She approached the police on October 16 with the rape complaint. She met Malik on Instagram in April. They spoke with each other on Instagram till September. During that time, he made several false claims about himself and even sent photos and videos of himself in uniform to cheat the woman.”

DCP (southwest) Amit Goel said the accused posed as an army officer posted in Kashmir. “He also sent her photographs of himself in a military uniform to strengthen the deception. However, he works as a delivery executive for a popular e-commerce company.” said the DCP.

The first senior officer said the woman and the man were talking regularly for months during which time Malik sent fake documents and photos to prove that he was on duty in Kashmir. “He told her that he would be returning after his duty and they decided to meet. He went to her house with spiked sweets. The woman lost consciousness and he raped her,” said the officer.

The DCP said a case under BNS sections 64 (1) rape, 351 (criminal initimidation), 319 (cheating by personation), 335 (producing a false document) and 123 (causing hurt by substance such as poison) was lodged at Safdarjung Enclave police station.

Malik was held from his residence in Delhi. Police said he confessed to the crime and they found multiple photos on his phone in uniform. “We are checking if he sexually assaulted other women in a similar manner. During searches at his house, we found that he bought the uniform from a shop in Delhi Cant some time ago,” said another officer who refused to be named.