LIVE! US woman gangrape: Police arrest four accused

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.

A senior police officer said they arrested a tour guide, a driver, a cleaner and a hotel staff. He, however, refused to reveal the names of the four as police will first conduct a test identification parade.

The arrest came on a day when the Delhi Commission for Women issued a notice to Delhi Police asking them why the Rape Crisis Cell of the women’s panel was not informed when the victim’s statement was recorded.

In her complaint, the US national had alleged that she was raped by five persons in a five-star hotel in April. Police are on a lookout for the fifth accused as the woman has not shared details about him, said the officer.

The remaining four accused, aged between 25-40, had joined the probe. On Monday, they were called for questioning at Connaught Place police station and after a five-hour interrogation, they were arrested, he said.

They were being questioned extensively following the registration of an FIR on December 3. They will be produced in court on Tuesday where their police custody will be sought for custodial interrogation to gain more evidence, he added.

In the eye of the storm after her comments on “Sahara Diaries” appeared weakening Congress’ attack on Narendra Modi over graft, Sheila Dikshit is toeing the party line saying the onus is on the Prime Minister to come out clean on the charges.

“I have said what I had to. The ball is in the court of the @PMOIndia & others now. Will he respond and come out clean? #SaharaBirlaDiaries (sic),” Dikshit tweeted tonight.

Her clarification came amid increasing unease in the Congress after she questioned the veracity of the “Sahara Diaries” based on which Rahul Gandhi had accused Modi of

taking money from corporate houses when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The former Delhi Chief Minister’s name purportedly figures in the list that the Congress put out in a tweet two days back as proof of its allegations against PM Modi.

On Sunday, Dikshit vehemently denied any wrongdoings as she said “It is all hearsay. There is not an iota of truth in the allegations. I totally reject these allegations.”

Dikshit, who is the Congress party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Uttar Pradesh elections, also said the Supreme Court had already made observations on the diaries, comments which appeared at variance with the party line in targeting Modi. The BJP had also said the Supreme Court found no merit in the allegations.

A nine member inter-Ministerial team deputed by the Centre to assess the damage caused in Tamil Nadu by Vardah cyclone is arriving today in the state, which has sought an immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for relief works.

Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Praveen Vashista will be leading the team, which consists of members from Departments of Finance, Agriculture, Health and Family Welfare, Rural Development and Road Transport, an official release said.

It will also have members from the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department and Central Electricity Authority.

Chief Minister O Panneerselvam had on December 19 met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and submitted a memorandum, pegging the estimated funds requirement for reconstruction and restoration works at Rs 22,573.26 crore in the aftermath of the cyclone that hit the state on December 12. He also sought an immediate assitance of Rs 1,000 crore.

The team was scheduled to hold consultations with Panneerselvam, before undertaking visits of the affected parts in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallore from December 28-30. Its members will assess the damage caused by the cyclone to agriculture, industries, infrastructure and other sectors, and submit its report to the Centre.

The Income Tax department has detected un-disclosed income amounting to Rs 169 crore after it conducted searches on two groups of realty developers and mall owners in Bengaluru.

Officials said the raids on the two groups, that began on December 23, ended on Monday.

“In the first case, it was found that the group has indulged in providing and receiving accommodation entries to reduce the taxable income. They were also found to be in receipt of money in respect of the property transactions. The disclosure in this cases stands at Rs 143 crore,” a senior official said.

In the second group, the official added, “the assessees were found to have not disclosed income to the extent of Rs 26 crore.

“It was detected during searches that the assessees had not accounted for the sales component received in cash and had disguised the personal expenses as business expenses among others. It was also found that they had made unaccounted investments in gold and jewellery,” the official said.

The total disclosures in the two cases stand at Rs 169 crore, the official said adding investigations are still on and hence the groups could not be identified.

The department has been conducting search and survey operations to check black money generation and hoarding post the currency scarp on November 8.

Days after he made headlines by saying that ex-army chief General Raheel Sharif had helped him exit Pakistan, former dictator Pervez Musharraf has claimed he had not sought any assistance from him and that his statement was distorted by the media.

“No one approached me, nor did I approach anyone… Raheel Sharif did not discuss anything with me, nor did I send him any request,” Musharraf said in an interview to a TV channel.

He said his last week’s statement to Dunya News was “distorted” by the media.

Musharraf in a talk show on Dunya News last week had said: “Well he (Raheel Sharif) did help me and I am absolutely clear and grateful. I have been his boss and I have been the army chief before him…He helped out, because the cases are politicised, they put me on the ECL, they turned it into a political issue.”

When asked about the military’s influence on domestic politics, he today said: “All institutions in Pakistan work together with each other… I’ve served in the army for over 40 years.”

[SOURCE:-Rediff]