14 year old allegedly raped in an Indian Covid-19 treatment center

A general view inside the new Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital on June 28,2020 in New Delhi, India. Photo by Getty Images

New Delhi, India – A 14-year-old girl has been allegedly raped in a Covid-19 treatment center of India.

Parvinder Singh, an additional deputy commissioner of Delhi police, told CNN that the alleged rapist was a 19-year-old patient at the center in the capital city New Delhi.

“The two did not know each other beforehand, the rape took place in an isolated area at the center and a 20-year-old man, a friend of the 19-year-old, assisted in the crime,” Singh said.

The suspect and the alleged victim were patients at the 10,000-bed Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre in Chhatarpur, in the south of the city after being tested for the virus Covid-19.

The incident was first reported on July 16 by the police when the girl’s family reported the alleged attack. It has now been registered as a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) act.

“The girl alleged that the 20-year-old also recorded the rape on his phone. We are investigating this as well as the rape charge,” Singh added.

Singh also told the CNN that the two suspects have been arrested and are currently kept at a government hospital under judicial custody because they are being treated for coronavirus. He also mentioned that the girl is now receiving treatment at a different government hospital.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfaren, on Friday morning, the country recorded a new record with 49,311 new virus cases recorded in 24 hours. The country has also seen a surge, recording just over 95,000 fresh cases. However, in reality the actual infections in the city is said to be more widespread than the number of confirmed cases.

India is currently the third worst affected country in the world with over 1.28 million people infected with the virus, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The worst affected is the United States with more than 4 million cases and second to it is Brazil with more than 2.28 million.