Kenyan woman not attacked in Greater Noida, was depressed: Official

Alleged she was slapped and kicked in her abdomen by 10-12 men at around 4.30 am

Confirming the version of the police, a senior official said on Thursday that Kenyan authorities believe that a woman from their country who claimed to have been assaulted in Greater Noida may not actually have been.

"There has been a meeting earlier today with Kenyan diplomats," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in his weekly media briefing here.

"It has been conveyed to us that the understanding of Kenyan authorities is that the reported incident of attack on the Kenyan woman in question does not correspond to reality," he said.

Maria Burendi, a student, alleged she was pulled out of an Ola cab around 4.30 a.m. near Alstonia Apartments in Knowledge Park of the satellite town near Delhi when she was returning home after meeting a friend.

The woman, in her 20s, alleged that she was slapped and kicked in her abdomen by 10-12 men at Greater Noida in Gautam Budh Nagar district.

Police officers in Greater Noida IANS spoke to said "no such incident" occurred on Wednesday morning and the victim may have made a "wrong statement" because she appeared depressed.

Superintendent of Police Sujata Singh told IANS that it was a "false case".

She said since the matter pertained to a foreigner and involved the foreign offices of India and Kenya, "we are waiting for a government order to expunge the FIR".

Sujata Singh said they were also informed by the President of the Association of African Students in India that the woman may be "lying because of depression".

Circle Officer Abhinandan Singh said the woman was depressed due to a family problem and had a fight with one of her friends on the night she reported the incident.

"She fabricated the story and tried to relate the matter with the recent attacks on Nigerians," Abhinandan Singh told IANS, referring to a series of shocking attacks on Nigerian students in Greater Noida on Monday.