Four held for gang-rape of US woman sent to judicial custody

New Delhi: A local court on Tuesday sent four persons including a tourist guide, who were arrested on the charge of sexually assaulting a US tourist here earlier this year, to two-day judicial custody.

"Four accused were presented before a duty magistrate, who remanded them to judicial custody till December 29," defence counsel Sandeep Kapur told IANS.

Advocate Kapur is appearing for Vivek, an accused in the case.

Aniruddha Singh, a Nepal-based tourist guide, Omprakash, Maqsood and Vivek were arrested from different cities during raids conducted by Delhi Police.

Among the accused, Omprakash was a driver, Maqsood a helper and Vivek a bell-boy at the hotel where the crime occurred.

Police initially identified Vivek from the duty register of room service as he was the first to enter the victim`s room on the day of the crime.

Police recorded the victim`s statement last week when she arrived in Delhi from America.

As per her complaint, the 30-year-old American tourist was gang raped at a luxury hotel in the first week of April this year.

Delhi Police had registered an FIR earlier this month on the complaint of the woman as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj intervened in the matter.

The victim had filed a police complaint with the help of an NGO early December, saying that the accused drugged her and sexually assaulted her for two days and also made an MMS.

The accused have, however, denied the charge.

A test identification parade is likely to be held in Tihar Jail and police are searching for the fifth accused, who is on the run, sources said.