US national 'gangrape': Police file FIR after Sushma assures action

An FIR was registered on Saturday on the complaint of an American woman who was allegedly gang-raped at a luxury hotel here in March, hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said those guilty won't be spared and asked Delhi Police to register a case.

Police added that they have identified the accused.

Joint Commissioner of Police, South West range, Deependra Pathak told IANS that the FIR had been filed on the basis of victim's statement received over e-mail.

"We have received the complaint from an NGO regarding sexual violence against a US national. We have got the first person's complaint as well.

"FIR has been filed on the basis of her (victim's) complaint," he said.

"Both NGO and the victim claimed more than one people were involved in the incident. We have done the identification of the accused. We will come up with more details very soon," he added.

The woman had, in an email to Delhi Police, said that she was raped by five men at a Connaught Place five-star hotel during her visit to India.

Taking cognizance of media reports about the alleged rape, Sushma Swaraj in a series of tweets said she spoke to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and Indian Ambassador in US Navtej Sarna about the matter.

"I have seen the media reports about gang rape of an American tourist in Delhi in March this year," she said.

She said she told Jung that "police should register a case and bring the guilty to book.

"I have also asked the Indian Ambassador in the US to contact the victim and assure her that we will not spare the guilty."

In her complaint, the woman has said she had hired a tourist guide who, she alleged, was one of the rapists.

--IANS

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