Swaroop Nagar to Astha Kunj: Delhi’s dark spots under scrutiny

Two sexual assaults in a fortnight — one in an open field in North-West Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar, the other in Astha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir — have focused attention on the Capital’s dark spots: poorly lit, thinly patrolled open spaces that residents say have long been unsafe, particularly after dusk.

In both cases, the locations shared common features: sparse street lighting, broken or unmanned boundaries, patchy CCTV coverage and little visible police presence. Residents living near both sites say they have avoided these stretches for years, especially at night.

Swaroop Nagar

On September 13, a 17-year-old girl was found dead after being allegedly gang-raped, stabbed and left in an open field in North-West Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar.

The body was decomposed to such an extent that forensic teams initially struggled to establish her identity, which was finally ascertained through a tattoo.

Four persons were named as suspects, including three juveniles aged between 16 and 17. The fourth suspect was identified as Shivam, also known as Sudama, the driver of the vehicle in which the accused were travelling.

Officers were alerted after the body was found lying in farmland near Kushak Road.

According to the police, the victim and the suspects knew each other. Investigators said the accused were drinking alcohol inside a delivery vehicle before the teenager was allegedly raped and murdered.

The body was found to have been scavenged by stray dogs.

The victim had not been reported missing. Her family members reportedly told officers that the 17-year-old frequently left home for several days at a time before returning, so they did not think anything was amiss when she didn’t return home earlier this month.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Stretch in the dark

The incident points to a wider problem: swathes of the Capital that fall outside regular surveillance because of poor visibility and thin police patrolling.

The entire stretch of Kushak Road carries two to three lanes of traffic on either side. Lined with farmhouses and farmland, the stretch of open fields is broken only by a stray residential quarter in the middle of nowhere. Most residents prefer to avoid these roads.

Roshni Devi, a resident of Bhalswa, said there was a lack of patrolling in her area as well. “Much of the police patrol is probably limited to the more urban side. I do not see a lot of patrolling in our locality as such. From around the Badli area, the patrolling really starts; otherwise we just avoid going out at night here,” she said.

Bhalswa lies a few kilometres from Kushak Road, and the gaps in surveillance are starker there. As night falls, with barely a few streetlights working, the area demands far more caution. “But there is nobody to actually hear us out,” she said.

Residents say the lack of patrolling has made the area around Swaroop Nagar police station a hotspot for a range of crimes.

Hands-on approach

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Shobhit Saksena said the force had adopted a more hands-on approach to identifying such vulnerable spots.

“We have strengthened and mobilised our patrolling units to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. Presently, we are engaging with civic societies, agencies and other stakeholders to identify such vulnerable spots and heighten patrols accordingly,” he told Patriot.

Saksena said the absence of a missing person report had caused the initial delay. “There was no missing person report lodged. The moment we got to know about the deceased, we set about to nab the culprits. We have also told the Delhi Development Authority and other civic agencies to deploy security guards at parks as part of our patrolling arrangements,” he said.

Astha Kunj Park incident

Similar factors were at play at Astha Kunj Park near Nehru Place. On Monday, a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three men posing as police officers. One of the suspects, identified as Asif, was subsequently injured in a police encounter after he allegedly opened fire on officers attempting to arrest him.

The incident came to light at approximately 8.45 p.m. following an emergency call, prompting officers from the Amar Colony police station to rush to the spot. On arrival, officers located the teenager with her male friend.

According to the victim’s statement, the pair had visited Kalkaji Mandir before entering Astha Kunj Park through Gate No 7. The three suspects approached them under the guise of police officers, separated the girl from her friend and forced her into a secluded section of the park.

A field visit to Astha Kunj Park revealed a similar picture: multiple secluded spots with sparse lighting, leaving much of the park in darkness. The absence of CCTV cameras inside the park’s premises also makes it difficult to track those who enter.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Vijay Kumar said the park was open on many sides and some boundary walls were broken. “Some gates are also not manned by guards, while some places are not sufficiently lit,” he said.

Reema Chatterjee, a regular on the route, said she normally avoids it owing to a lack of working lights in the park. “It’s a pretty big park, and normally my work gets over by around six, so I usually do not have to walk in the dark. But sometimes, when I have to do overtime, I just avoid the route. It is better for my journey time to be more than for there to be a very real threat to my life,” she said.

Police response

On September 18, the Delhi Police directed the strengthening of district-level ‘Shishtachar’ anti-harassment squads to step up preventive policing against street harassment and other offences targeting women in public areas.

The initiative was finalised during a review meeting chaired by the Special Commissioner of Police and attended by district DCPs to evaluate squad performance across crowded and high-risk zones.

The DCPs were instructed to systematically identify and map vulnerable hotspots to ensure targeted deployment during peak hours. Regular patrols and rotated preventive operations were also prioritised to expand coverage across sensitive locations.

Under the updated framework, the specialised squads remain tasked with active intervention, crime prevention and immediate victim assistance.

The squads were first deployed in 2025. From March 2025, when the squads were introduced, till August 2026, they detained about 1.05 lakh people in over 15,000 drives for molestation, harassment and similar offences.

In 2025, the squads conducted 10,449 drives and detained 65,615 people. This year, they have carried out 4,628 drives and detained another 40,015, taking the cumulative figure to 1,05,630.

There are 30 Shishtachar squads across Delhi, each comprising 11 core personnel: an Inspector, a Sub-Inspector, four women police officers and five male police officers, besides personnel from the Special Staff or Anti-Auto Theft Squad for technical assistance.

Also Read: Kalkaji gang rape puts spotlight back on safety of women, children in Delhi

Earlier in 2025, Delhi ranked 28th out of 31 cities in the National Annual Report & Index on Women’s Safety 2025, which placed it among the least safe urban centres for women in India. While only 8% of women felt unsafe during the day, 35% to 41% felt vulnerable after dark or in deserted areas.

Nearly 12% of women reported experiencing public harassment such as catcalling, staring or inappropriate touching, nearly double the national average of 7%. Further, 61% of these victims faced repeat offences more than twice.

Over 30% of women reported minimal or non-existent safe infrastructure, identifying neighbourhood streets (34%) and transit hubs (32%) as the primary vulnerability hotspots. Nearly 51% of surveyed women sought stronger policing, while 17% called for faster emergency response times.