Gandhi, the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad, said in a post on X that the killing had exposed what she described as a wider failure to guarantee women safety, freedom and equality. She alleged that hundreds of women facing atrocities and violence could not expect concrete action against perpetrators and claimed that First Information Reports were not registered in many cases.
Referring to the Swaroop Nagar case, Gandhi said “all limits of cruelty” had been crossed and also pointed to another alleged sexual assault on a minor girl in Delhi days earlier. She accused authorities of offering rhetoric on women’s development without taking sufficient responsibility for their safety.
Delhi Police have said four people, including three juveniles, were apprehended in connection with the Swaroop Nagar case after an investigation that relied heavily on CCTV footage and the tracing of a vehicle suspected to have been used in the crime. One adult accused, aged 19, was arrested, while the three minors were taken into custody.
Police said the girl’s body was found in an open field near Kushak Road in Swaroop Nagar on September 13. Investigators examined footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras and tracked a tempo seen moving in the area. The vehicle was subsequently traced and questioning linked investigators to the suspects, according to police accounts of the investigation.
The case was registered at Swaroop Nagar police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to murder, sexual assault of a minor and destruction of evidence, along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Police have said weapons and clothing allegedly connected to the crime were recovered during the investigation.
Investigators have alleged that the victim knew one of the juveniles and had gone to meet him before the assault. Police suspect the girl was sexually assaulted by the group and killed after she threatened to disclose what had happened. Those allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial scrutiny.
The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and sought a time-bound investigation. Commission chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner seeking rigorous prosecution, preservation of forensic evidence and action under the POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The commission also asked police to consider the procedure prescribed under the Juvenile Justice Act for accused persons aged between 16 and 18, including the preliminary assessment required in cases involving alleged heinous offences. It sought security, legal assistance, counselling and compensation for the victim’s family and requested an action-taken report within seven days.
Police have also indicated that the victim’s precise age is being verified because investigators did not immediately receive documentary proof from her family. Officers are considering an ossification test, while photographs showing a distinctive tattoo helped establish her identity after the body was recovered in a badly decomposed condition.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also criticised the handling of women’s safety in Delhi on Saturday and called for accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whose ministry controls Delhi Police. His remarks echoed Priyanka Gandhi’s demand for stronger institutional responsibility, although the police response in the Swaroop Nagar case included the registration of an FIR, forensic examination and the apprehension of four suspects within days of the body being found.
Gandhi’s intervention added a political dimension to the public anger over the case, with the Congress repeatedly pressing the Union government on women’s safety in the national capital. Policing in Delhi comes under the Union Home Ministry, while the elected Delhi government has responsibility for several social welfare and public service functions.
Her remarks, however, went beyond the Swaroop Nagar investigation by alleging broader shortcomings in the handling of complaints from women. She did not provide case-specific data in Saturday’s statement to substantiate the claim that FIRs were not being registered in many instances.
