'Assumed genitals were chopped off': Raped Delhi teen's body was mistaken for a man's. Then appeared a tattoo

As Delhi Police found a body in a heavily mutilated state earlier this week in the national capital's Swaroop Nagar area, they initially assumed that it belonged to a man, only to later find out it was a teen girl who was raped and murdered.

A girl, believed to be 16-year-old, was gang-raped and murdered by a group of four teenagers and her body was found dumped in a field in outer Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar.

What made the body's identification difficult were visible skeletal parts and a missing arm.

“The skull and ribcage were visible and the right arm was cut off. We couldn’t figure out whether it was a man or a woman; it appeared more to be of a middle-aged man,” an investigator said on condition of anonymity.

As stated in an earlier HT report, locals had spotted dogs and other animals attacking the body before they informed the police about it.

According to a probe official, the teen was raped and murdered on September 11, her body was found two days later and cops received a call about the same at around 7:30am on September 13.

According to the investigative officer, a pair of blue jeans, with pieces of a purple cloth on top were found on the body, which was covered in mud. The abdomen disfigured by decomposition, the face was not recognisable and the body was dumped in the area where animals attacked it, an officer said, as reported by HT earlier.

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Given that there were six stab wounds on the body investigators assumed in the initial probe that the genitals had been chopped. However, the medical report later confirmed rape.

During the initial probe, cops mistook the body to be of a man's. It was only after an officer decided to take a closer look at the mortuary that a clearer picture emerged.

"An assistant sub-inspector found a tattoo with three stars in a row on the left arm. That was the first turning point in the case as it made us consider the possibility that the body could be of a woman too,” the officer said.

Later, police visited the girl's family in Tri Nagar, which is when her brother-in-law showed some of her pictures, one of them with a tattoo. “We asked if they had any photographs of the girl. The brother-in-law showed some photos on his phone. After scanning a few, there was one with her tattoo: three stars in a row," the officer said.

Also Read: Highly decomposed body, attacked by dogs: How Delhi teen's gangrape and murder came to light

While the girl is believed to be 16, cops are planning on getting an ossification test done on the body's remains to ascertain her age, the officer said, citing the lack of ID documents from the girl's family.