Delhi police book five for raping American woman in five-star hotel

Police booked on Saturday five men including a tourist guide for alleged gang rape of an American woman at a five-star hotel in Delhi in March, an official said on Saturday.

Police booked on Saturday five men including a tourist guide for alleged gang rape of an American woman at a five-star hotel in Delhi in March, an official said on Saturday.

The decision to register a first information report (FIR) was taken after police went through a complaint filed on behalf of the woman and was emailed to the Delhi police chief a week ago. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

The decision to register a first information report (FIR) was taken after police went through a complaint filed on behalf of the woman and was emailed to the Delhi police chief a week ago.

Police have identified the tourist guide named as the prime accused in the complaint. “The prime suspect is a resident of Delhi but he is presently out of Delhi,” the officer added.

The American woman is the second foreign tourist to have been sexually assaulted in Delhi in recent years.

A court last year sentenced to life five men found guilty of gang raping a Danish woman near the Delhi railway station in 2014, an incident which had earned negative publicity for the national capital known to be one of the most unsafe places for women in the country.

The woman has said the tourist guide befriended her while showing her tourist spots in Delhi and adjoining states. The woman said on the night of the incident, he entered her room with four of his friends, also related to the travel agency, on the pretext of discussing their next day’s journey route plan.

They had drinks in the room after which the tourist guide forced himself on her, she said. The others also took turns to rape her before leaving the room, said a source familiar with the complaint.

The traumatised woman went back to the US shortly after the alleged gang rape, the complaint read.

Police have asked a Delhi-based lawyer, who is assisting the survivor in the case, to assist them in contacting her.

“We will approach the US embassy to assist us in contacting her. We will record her statement before a magistrate if she agrees to come to Delhi. If she is unable to visit us, her statement can be recorded through video conferencing as well,” the officer added.

The officer said they were keen to know why the woman did not approach the hotel staff or the police before leaving.

On Friday, police checked the guest records of the hotel in Connaught Place and confirmed her stay for four days.

However, there was very little chance of finding CCTV footage as the hotel informed police that they don’t store video recordings for more than a month.

The hotel staff also said she did not raise the issue with them.

Police have collected details about the tour and travel agency for which the prime suspect works.

Another team has been tasked to track down the guide and bring him to Delhi for questioning.