17-year-old US national raped in India

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A 17-year old American girl was allegedly raped by a 21-year-old, an expat, in the Indian city of Gurgaon.

The girl met the boy through a social networking site, and he took her to Balaji Guest House in Sector 38 of Gurgaon where the rape took place.

The girl did not inform the police about the rape, but after her mother took her to AIIMS hospital in Delhi, the doctors alerted the Gurgaon Police.

“The medical examination at AIIMS confirmed rape. We have registered a case on the basis of the report,” ACP (crime) Rajesh Kumar said.

Kumar said that at first, the girl refused to tell her mother what had happened. But broke down when her mother pressed her for answers. The mother then took her to AIIMS, but left before the police arrived even though the doctors had advised them to stay.

According to the report, the man picked the class-nine student from her house in Gurgaon at 9:30am to take her to the guest house. CCTV cameras showed footage of the two entering and leaving the guest house.

The footage also showed that the girl was unable to walk properly when leaving, and “she was bleeding and in pain when her mother got home in the evening,” Kumar said.

“In her statement to the duty magistrate on Wednesday, the girl requested that no harm be done to the accused,” Kumar said.

Kumar went on to say that the girl did not contribute particulars about the man accused. Although it was known that she befriended him on Facebook a few months ago.

Kumar said the mother was hesitant to talk to the police. But when the police received her address from the hospital, she agreed to cooperate.

Under the law, the police are required to register a case against sex offenders as soon as they are informed about it.

According to the Hindustan Times, child rights lawyer Anant Asthana said that in cases where minors are concerned, the police are required to act upon any information that they are provided,

The girl, who is a US national, came to India eight months ago and lives in a tony Gurgaon neighbourhood, the report said. She had been in constant contact with her rapist, and had met him on three different occasions.

The accused has been charged under the stringent protection of children which is from the sexual offences act.

The police believe that the man accused is from an African country. The only other information they have about him is his first name obtained from Facebook.

The girl did not know where he lived, or worked, police said.

According to the staff of Balaji Guest House, which is a paying-guest accommodation, the man frequented the place.

“We don’t have many details about him. The mobile numbers provided by the girl are switched off,” Kumar said.