Danish woman gangrape: police custody of five accused extended

Five persons arrested in connection with the gangrape of a 51-year-old Danish tourist were on Monday sent in police custody till January 23 by a Delhi court.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sudhanshu Kaushik extended the police custody of accused Mahender alias Ganja, Mohammed Raza, Raju Singh, Arjun and Raju after they were produced before him on expiry of three days' remand.

"The accused are sent to PC (police custody) till January 23. They be produced on Thursday," the court said.

The police told the court that seven persons, including two juvenile, have been nabbed and one is still at large.

The investigating agency also said that the remaining will be apprehended soon as "their appearances are described by the arrested accused".

The two juveniles are facing inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The police had told the court that the accused, all vagabonds, had robbed and gangraped the victim at knife-point on January 14 night after leading her to a secluded place close to the Divisional Railway Officers Club near the New Delhi railway station.

The police told the court that they have recovered the victim's looted articles from the possession of the arrested accused.

Police have booked the accused under sections 376 (2)(G) (gangrape), 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 392 (robbery) of the IPC.

The Danish tourist, who had come to India on January 1, had first gone to Agra. She returned to Delhi on January 13 and checked in a Paharganj hotel.

On January 14, she went to visit a museum near Connaught Place but lost her way back to her hotel following which she approached the group of men asking for directions who waylaid her and then robbed and gangraped her for around three hours.