New Delhi, Sep 23 An eerie silence hangs over the sprawling Aastha Kunj Park in southeast Delhi, where concerns over security, poor lighting and unattended access points continue to unsettle visitors, walkers and vendors days after a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped there.
On Monday evening, three men — identified as Asif, Hemant and Hemant’s brother Manish — allegedly posed as policemen and confronted the teenage girl and her 17-year-old male friend, who were seated on a bench and enjoying a pack of chips in the park after offering prayers at the Kalkaji Mandir nearby. The men allegedly separated the two and raped the girl in turns, police said.
Security has since been heightened in the park, with police personnel seen patrolling in different parts of the sprawling acres.
However, visitors and vendors say the increased deployment does little to address longstanding concerns over the lack of security guards, especially after dark; broken portions of the boundary wall that serve as unattended access points; and many isolated stretches of the park being poorly lit.
Many said security is typically strengthened only after an untoward incident and tends to ease after a few days.
A woman vendor inside the park, stationed near the spot where the alleged rape took place, told PTI that there has been increased deployment of police personnel and security guards since Monday evening.
“Police personnel and guards are now more visible in the area, but why isn’t this the norm always? Why wait for something so horrific to happen for authorities to address the fault lines? I feel scared going that way in the evening after what happened here,” she said.
The park is spread across around 142 acres and has 29 gates. It is surrounded by residential colonies, markets, offices and major religious places, making people’s movement in and around the area difficult to monitor, visitors and vendors said.
A vendor operating near one of the entrances said the main gates are generally closed around 7 pm, but people can still enter through damaged portions of the boundary wall and other open access points.
“People continue to enter the park through different points even after the gates are shut. It is difficult to monitor movement across such a large area,” the vendor said.
A visitor, Amit, said the security deployment appeared limited considering the size of the park.
“We come here to take a walk in nature. There are already limited spaces in Delhi where you can be close to trees and clean air. In this park, there are some very isolated stretches. Police patrolling should cover those areas as well,” he said.
Shopkeepers and vendors in the vicinity said surveillance should be strengthened not only at the main gates but also along the isolated stretches. They said damaged portions of the boundary wall and multiple entry and exit points compromised security monitoring in the park.
Visitors said lighting should be improved, and regular patrolling must be conducted in secluded areas; the security arrangements should cover the entire park.
Unless these concerns are addressed, danger would still lurk as the current security deployment gradually wanes, they said.
(PTI News)
