New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- A minor school student was gang-raped allegedly by three men on Monday evening inside Aastha Kunj park, a stone's throw from Kalkaji temple, hours after she turned 17, the latest in a string of crimes against women raising serious questions about policing in the Capital. The girl, a resident of Faridabad, and her 17-year-old friend, a resident of south Delhi, reached Kalkaji temple around 7pm on Monday to mark her birthday, said police officers. After visiting the temple, they headed to the vast Aastha Kunj park, managed by the Delhi Development Authority, around 7.30pm, the officers said. They were seated on a bench when the three men - Asif, 25, and brothers Mukesh Singh, 24, and Hemant Singh, 31 - posed as police personnel and threatened to call the duo's parents and a PCR van, before separating them. The survivor's male friend was taken to a corner and slapped around, and the minor girl was allegedly raped by the three men, said police officers. "The accused first separated the girl from her friend and took her towards a secluded area. One of the accused, identified as Asif, allegedly threatened her with a firearm and knife and sexually assaulted her. Later, the two other accused also allegedly sexually assaulted her. The accused persons subsequently threatened the victim and her friend," said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Vineet Kumar. Joint commissioner of police (south) Vijay Kumar said the three men used legal language to threaten the duo that a case could be registered against them. "They then separated the girl from her friend before taking her towards a secluded area. Asif threatened the girl with a firearm and a knife and raped her while one of the accused held the male friend. The two other men with him also raped her, threatened the minors and left," he added. Police said Asif was carrying an unlicensed pistol. Around 6am on Tuesday, Asif was arrested after a brief exchange of fire near the district magistrate's office in Amar Colony. Mukesh and Hemant were arrested from their house in Sriniwaspuri around 7am. An FIR was filed against the three under sections pertaining to gangrape, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Police said that Mukesh was pursuing a BSc (Maths) degree. Their father said that Hemant was a lawyer who practised in Saket court, though police said they found no corroborating evidence. Asif, police said, works at the Okhla vegetable market. A police officer citing the FIR said the girl went to Kalkaji Mandir in the evening and later to the park with her friend when the three accused approached them, took her to an isolated spot and "threatened" her with a firearm and knife. The accused then took turns to rape her while also assaulting her friend, said the officer. The male friend did not identify the accused. The girl, in her statement, said one of the suspects was "heavily built", had a "stubble" and was dressed in a "checked shirt" and jeans. The second accused was wearing a "brown T-shirt" and a dark-coloured lower while the third accused was wearing a "black T-shirt" and "black lower". This is the latest in a string of crimes against women that have jolted the national capital and re-established concerns about safety and security of women and girls in public spaces. The incident has also underscored the widespread absence of security mechanisms - malfunctioning CCTVs, dark spots, unpatrolled streets and parks - in popular public places in the city. On September 16, a 10-year-old Class 6 student was tied up and raped inside a tailor's shop in Delhi's Sadar Bazaar area. Police said she had gone to buy a notebook when the accused, a 56-year-old man, pulled her inside his shop. On September 14, a six-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 34-year-old man in the Kishanganj area in southwest Delhi. Earlier, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered by a group of four teenagers - three of them minors - who later dumped her body in a field in outer Delhi's Swaroop Nagar. The incident took place on September 10-11 but the body was found on September 13. The police later caught the four persons. HT found a slew of lapses in the 142.10-acre park - including poor lighting, malfunctioning lamp-posts, pools of darkness created by canopied trees, broken walls leading to unauthorised entry and exit points, and inadequate patrolling. HT only saw two guards across seven entry points. The park abuts the Nehru Place Metro station and connects ISKCON temple, Kalkaji Mandir, Lotus Temple and Nehru Place to Garhi Village, Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, Kalkaji and other areas. It was inaugurated in 2002 and has lush gardens, seating spaces, pond and fountain spaces. DDA sought to evade responsibility. "Aastha Kunj park is a large public green space with 29 gates, including wicket gates, and is frequented by visitors throughout the day. For the watch and ward of the park and the safety and security of visitors, nine security guards are deployed in each shift at strategic locations, along with supervisory and patrolling arrangements. The lighting installations in the park are functional and are inspected regularly." The Delhi Police also followed suit, with a senior police officer saying patrolling in the park was not possible. "This is a huge park and too dense. The lights inside don't work. Are we supposed to patrol the streets or the parks?" he asked. Senior police officers said that the accused took "advantage" of the dark and secluded spaces. "A PCR call regarding the alleged rape of a 17-year-old minor girl by three persons near Kalkaji Mandir was received at about 8.45pm. On receipt of the information, SHO along with staff reached Aastha Kunj park, where the victim was found along with her male friend. As per the victim's statement, she and her friend had visited Kalkaji Mandir for darshan and subsequently entered Aastha Kunj park through gate no. 7," said DCP Kumar. After the assault, the accused again threatened the minors, slapped the boy thrice and left, said police. Police said the teenagers called 112 from the park itself and stayed there. "The girl was medically examined at AIIMS Hospital. The crime/FSL team examined the scene and relevant exhibits were collected. Accordingly, an FIR was lodged under sections of gangrape, voluntarily causing simple hurt, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and Pocso Act sections of aggravated penetrative sexual assault and abetment of offence against a child," said the DCP. Police said they recorded the boy's statement. He alleged that the accused "raped his friend in front of him". Forensics officials told HT they recovered used condoms along with other biological evidence from the spot. Senior police officers said that at night, when they assembled teams to probe the case, the CCTVs at the entry gate of the park were not functional. Based on footage from neighbouring roads and local enquiry, a team led by inspector Rajender Dagar managed to identify the trio at night. "Around 6am, they found that Asif was near the district magistrate's office in Amar Colony. He had left from Okhla Mandi where he works as police were looking for him. On his way, he was waylaid by a patrolling team. He opened fire at the police party and fired three rounds. Despite being directed to surrender, he continued firing. During the exchange of fire, one round hit the bullet-proof jacket of HC Rajesh. In self-defence, HC Rajesh fired two rounds, one of which hit the accused in his right leg," added the DCP. The injured accused was immediately shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment. As per investigators, Hemant and Mukesh met Asif recently during a stroll at Aastha Kunj park. "The three are not friends but acquaintances. On Monday, they were walking together when they spotted the minors sitting together. They decided to target the minors as they were sitting in a secluded spot. Since Asif was carrying a weapon, they decided to pose as police personnel. Hemant started talking in a very loud and authoritative way," said the investigator, requesting anonymity. Hemant and Mukesh's family said the siblings were picked up from their rented house at 7am. JR Dhankar, their father, told HT, "I am a practising lawyer in Faridabad. My son, Hemant, is a lawyer at Saket court. Why would he do this? My younger son is a mathematics student. He is in his final year. The police have no proof against my sons. They are torturing my boys who are innocent. We don't know any Asif. Why would two brothers rape a girl? Police have no case and have made a fake case to trap us. My sons were not even at the park. My sons live here but the rest of our family lives in Faridabad and had no idea the police were doing this."...