A 15-year-old has been apprehended for allegedly raping a 65-year-old woman in a shack in an open plot near Sainik Farms in south Delhi, reported Times of India.

According to the Indian media outlet, the teenager has been sent for counselling at a juvenile welfare centre. In her statement to the police, the woman, employed as a household help, said the incident took place on Monday after she returned from work.

She said the accused stayed at a nearby plot where his father worked as a caretaker. The woman was taking a bath when the boy forced himself upon her, the complaint said. As she tried to call for help, the teenager allegedly gagged and assaulted her. Before fleeing, he threatened to harm her if she confided in anybody. She, however, went to the Neb Sarai police station and registered a complaint.

A team was formed to trace the accused. Police said the boy's family tried to blame someone else for the crime but the accused admitted his crime.

The woman's statement was recorded before a magistrate and the matter was referred to the juvenile justice board.

The woman, from Chhattisgarh, has been staying in Delhi for the past few years while her son and daughter live in the village. She is being counselled by an NGO, police said.