Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG) Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Wednesday directed authorities in the city to carry out a comprehensive safety audit of all parks across the national capital, besides ordering heightened deployment of Pink Police Personnel around their premises following the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl at a park in southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji’s locality, officials said.

According to sources, Sandhu chaired a meeting with senior officials, including the Police Commissioner of Delhi Anurag Kumar, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar and Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) Vice-chairman N Saravana Kumar, his office posted on ‘X’.

The LG issued orders that the safety audit be completed within a week, and directed the authorities to lay focus on adequate lighting, security arrangements, regular patrolling and cleanliness in parks.

What did Sandhu emphasise in the meeting?

The Delhi Police have also been directed to ramp up beat patrolling around park premises, including the deployment of Pink Police Personnel, as per the LG’s office. Sandhu underlined the significance of maintaining safe and clean public parks, saying such spaces are paramount to improving the quality of life for citizens.

His directives came two days after a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at Ashta Kunj Park near the Kalkaji Temple on Monday evening.

Police said that the teenager and one of her male friends had paid a visit to the temple and headed to the park later. Shortly after they entered the premises, three men allegedly approached them, posing as cops.

The accused trio allegedly told the duo that they were minors and accused them of ‘doing wrong,’ while threatening to register a case against them, according to police. The trio then separated the girl from her male friend and then took her to a secluded part of the park. The trio took turns to rape her one after another, police said.

Accused trio arrested

Delhi Police said all three accused were arrested after an hours-long manhunt. The accused have been identified as Asif, Hemant and his younger brother Mukesh. The incident has sparked renewed attention to security measures in public recreational spaces, particularly during evening hours. The proposed audit is likely to examine whether parks have adequate lighting, security infrastructure, cleanliness and routine police presence.

The latest measures to be adopted by the administration shall cover parks across Delhi rather than being confined to the location where the alleged crime took place. Delhi Police, MCD and the DDA shall work in consonance after receiving directives from the Lieutenant Governor.