Police arrest four accused of raping American woman in Delhi

Four persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape of a US national in a five-star hotel in New Delhi earlier this year.

Four people were arrested on Monday evening in connection with the gang rape of an American woman who had come vacationing to Delhi in April.

The woman had alleged that she was raped by the men for two days. They also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter to anybody. (Representative image)

Though the crime was reported in October, an FIR was registered only on December 3.

Sources said the suspects – a tour guide, a driver, a cleaner and a hotel staffer – were questioned for five hours and later taken into custody. Police said the four were asked to join the investigation on December 5, and questioned on several occasions in the days that followed. The suspects’ passports were also seized, and they were prohibited from leaving the city without seeking due permission.

“The tour guide was questioned after he arrived from Nepal on December 8. He denied the charges levelled against him, and even said the victim had rated him positively in the feedback forms,” said an officer.

Police said the four were not arrested earlier because the travel agency they worked with had conducted an internal inquiry and given them a clean chit. Also, the woman had not recorded her statement before the magistrate. “During questioning, the men claimed that the woman was trying to falsely implicate them because she had gone with them to Agra a day after accusing them of the crime. They also showed pictures of her looking calm. Taking this into consideration, the travel agency gave them a clean chit,” another officer said.

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After the woman came to Delhi and recorded her statement under Section 164 of the CrPc, the suspects were called for questioning once again and placed under arrest.

The woman had alleged that the guide, who befriended her while showing her tourist spots in Delhi and adjoining states, entered her room with his friends on April 8 purportedly to discuss the following day’s itinerary. They allegedly offered the woman water laced with sedatives, and then took turns to rape her. She accused them of raping her the next day as well, and threatening her with dire consequences if the matter was reported. The suspects also allegedly made a video of the act, which they threatened to make public if she approached the authorities.

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(With PTI inputs)