The gang-rape of a 51-year-old Danish woman on Tuesday night has again brought the issue of the safety of foreigners, who visit Indian Capital, into focus.
Many Task Forces were constituted after the gang-rape and murder of a 59-year-old Australian tourist by two taxi drivers soon after she landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) here in March 2004. The Australian national had arrived at the IGI Airport from Hong Kong in the early hours of March 17. She had hired a taxi from the prepaid booth for Karol Bagh. Jyotish Prasad Shah (then 24) conspired with another driver Ashish Kumar (then 21) to rob her of her belongings. She was raped, robbed and then killed. Nothing much changed as the ground situation remains the same as vagabonds control the deserted streets, parks and buildings.
It was on October 14, 2003, when a Swiss woman diplomat was kidnapped from the parking of Siri Fort auditorium and then raped in a moving vehicle. The 36-year-old Swiss diplomat had gone to watch a movie at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) when she was accosted and kidnapped by the rapist. The case still remains a jigsaw puzzle and was never cracked despite the Delhi Police launching one of the biggest manhunts in its history. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Additional Commissioner of Police and the teams of South district police questioned over 24,000 suspects but without success. The Delhi Police suffered a setback following the refusal of the Swiss diplomat to come to the Capital to assist the SIT.
The shocking gang-rape of the Danish woman near New Delhi railway station may go the same way as the victim left for her country without undergoing mandatory medical tests and recording her statement before a Magistrate under Section-164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an official said on Wednesday.
“The main reason why the Swiss diplomat rape case was never solved was the total non-cooperation by the victim who had left India the next morning and refused to undergo a medical test. The Investigative Officer (IO) was in regular touch with her and the photographs of all those picked up for questioning were sent to her for identification but nothing came out of it,” a senior Delhi Police official said. Nothing was left to the chance and Delhi Police did every conceivable piece of investigation to bring the culprit to justice but luck evaded the investigators.
The Swiss diplomat responded to e-mail communications from the Delhi Police. The then DCP, South Vivek Gogia remained in constant touch with her and she responded to his queries. The victim answered many queries regarding the identity of the rapist and his accomplice but she was not very sure.