Police in Gurugram have arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly raping a minor girl at a hotel in Sector 38, and also detained the hotel owner for renting out the room without proper identity verification. Officials said both were produced before a local court on Friday and remanded to police custody for two weeks.

Victim’s Mother Filed Missing Complaint

The case began after the girl’s mother lodged a complaint on October 28, reporting that her daughter had gone missing two days earlier. Investigators later traced the minor and uncovered that the accused had used a forged Aadhaar card to book a hotel room. “A First Information Report (FIR) was registered the next day under relevant sections, and the girl was found following an investigation,” said a Gurugram Police spokesperson.

Preliminary findings revealed that the accused, a Class 12 pass-out, had first met the girl about 15 days before the assault at a mall in Sector 68. According to officers, the two stayed in touch through Instagram, where the 18-year-old allegedly convinced her to meet again. On October 26, he took her to a hotel and booked a room under a false identity, showing her as a 22-year-old woman on a fake Aadhaar card.

Sexual Assault Inside Hotel Room

Police said the man then sexually assaulted the girl inside the room. “He sexually assaulted the girl inside a room. The hotel owner had not verified the Aadhaar card on the M-Aadhaar application to check if it was original as the girl was clearly a minor. He had not even taken signatures from both of them and allowed her to go inside a room with the suspect,” said Sandeep Turan, Public Relations Officer of Gurugram Police.

The hotel’s proprietor, Ramphool alias Ram, a resident of Butana village in Sonepat district, was also taken into custody. Police said he failed to check the authenticity of the Aadhaar card and did not follow standard lodging procedures. “The Gurgaon police have issued strict directives to all hotel and guesthouse owners: No minor shall be accommodated without verifying Aadhaar and related documents. Violators will face stringent legal action,” an officer warned.

Charges and Investigation

Following confirmation of sexual assault in the medical examination, the FIR was expanded to include Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Both the accused and the hotel owner are being questioned to determine the sequence of events and any potential lapses in hotel procedures. Police said the minor’s statement has been recorded before a judicial magistrate.

Broader Crackdown on Child Exploitation

The Gurugram case comes days after a similar assault was reported from Faridabad, where a 15-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, drugged, and gangraped. Police there arrested a 22-year-old truck driver linked to the crime. Investigators revealed that the main accused had earlier met the girl and her father while giving them a ride in his truck and later contacted her via Instagram and phone.

“That is how he obtained the girl’s contact number. He had shared his phone number and Instagram ID with the girl, and they communicated via phone and on social media,” said a Faridabad police spokesperson, adding that the accused was a resident of Mathura.