NEW DELHI: Thousands of students protested in New Delhi on Wednesday, demanding safety for women after a 17-year-old girl reported that she had been gang-raped by three men posing as police officers at a park in the Indian capital.
Police shot and arrested one suspect on Tuesday and were questioning two others, who are brothers, senior police officer Vijay Kumar told reporters.
The teenager reported the alleged assault earlier this week.
VIDEO | Delhi: LSR students stage solidarity march over gang rape of minor near Aastha Kunj, raise slogans. pic.twitter.com/VpwdGotWws
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 23, 2026
Most of the protesters were women. Several wore face masks as they marched through streets near the reported crime scene, carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding protection for women amid rising violence.
“Some students were panicking after the shooting, so we decided to suspend classes around noon,” an official at Lady Shri Ram College, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
College suspends classes after shooting
The reported gang-rape took place about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from Lady Shri Ram College, one of India’s leading women’s colleges.
The college suspended classes on Tuesday after the suspect was shot a few metres from its campus.
South Delhi – Lady Shri Ram College
solidarity March by female students
They are demanding security for women
17 years old student was Gangraped by three near Kalkaji temple
They have assembled for the victim @DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/DDQVeltXy5— Atulkrishan (@iAtulKrishan1) September 23, 2026
College principal Kanika K Ahuja said classes had been cancelled after authorities learned about the incident. She said the “safety, security, and well-being” of students were “paramount” to the institution.
The father of the two brothers questioned over the case was quoted by local media as saying they had been framed.
Rising sexual violence cases in India
The incident has renewed concerns over sexual violence in India, where thousands of rape cases are registered every year despite legal reforms introduced after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder of a student.
VIDEO | Students stage solidarity march over gang rape of minor near Aastha Kunj in Delhi.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) pic.twitter.com/hsZtvIxsZI
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 23, 2026
India recorded 29,536 rape cases in 2024, according to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). That amounted to about 81 registered rape cases a day. The figures cover cases reported to police and therefore do not represent all sexual violence, as crimes can go unreported.
The NCRB recorded 441,534 cases of crime against women in 2024, down 1.5% from 448,211 cases in 2023. Crimes against women included rape, kidnapping and abduction, assault, sexual harassment and cruelty by husbands or relatives.
The number of reported rape cases remained high, with rape accounting for 29,536 of the more than 441,000 registered crimes against women.
In Delhi, 1,058 rape cases were registered in 2024, according to NCRB data. Delhi also recorded 13,396 crimes against women in 2024, the highest total among India’s 19 metropolitan cities, according to the NCRB.
Sexual violence became the focus of nationwide protests after the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in Delhi.
The case triggered demonstrations across India and led to legal reforms, including tougher punishments for sexual offences and the creation of fast-track courts.
However, rape cases have remained persistently high since then. More than 31,000 rape cases were registered in 2022, while conviction rates remained around 27%-28% between 2018 and 2022.
