Probe into Nepali maids' alleged rape by Saudi diplomat as per Vienna convention

Gurgaon: The probe into the alleged rape and confinement of two Nepalese women by a Saudi diplomat and his "guests" in an apartment here would be undertaken in accordance with the Vienna convention as the official enjoys diplomatic immunity, the Gurgaon Police Commissioner said today.

Constantly stressing that registeration of an FIR does not mean that offence has been proved, Police Commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk said the police is in touch with the External Affairs Ministry which has sought a detailed report on the case which would be submitted shortly.

"We have been able to establish the identity (of the diplomat who has been accused of rape) and we have also been able to establish that the residents of that flat enjoy diplomatic immunity," he said.

Asked if the accused diplomat would be summoned for test identification parade, he said that whatever steps are needed for investigation will be taken in coordination with MEA. He, however, made it clear that these steps will have to be as per the Vienna convention, an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries.

Vienna convention deals with the privileges of a diplomatic mission and the diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or harassment by the host country. This forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity. Virk added that no name has been mentioned in the FIR since the complainant did not know the names.

Two Nepalese women have alleged that they were confined and raped by the diplomat repeatedly in a flat in Gurgaon on the outskirts of the national capital after which local police filed an FIR in the matter.

Virk, who is heading the special investigation team looking into the case, also emphasized that the FIR is against unknown residents of the concerned apartment, which was raided yesterday, and does not name any person.

"In their statements, both to the police and the judicial magistrate, the victims did not name the alleged perpetrators. And the law doesn't allow the police to incorporate names into an FIR on its own," said Virk.

Giving details of the police action, he said when the police team went to conduct a raid at the apartment in DLF Phase II yesterday, they were clueless about who the apartment belonged to.

"Soon they realized that the residents were foreign nationals, who later turned out to be connected to a diplomat of Saudi Arabian embassy," said Virk, adding that the concerned diplomat was at his office in the embassy when the search took place.

Virk also said the police faced "resistance" from the occupants of the apartment during the raid, but refrained from disclosing the nature of the resistance.

Asked if the police has directed the embassy to ensure that the accused diplomat does not leave the country, he said all communication will be done through MEA as per the rules. He said the police has given the requisite "information" to the MEA without any loss of time.

"They (MEA) are required to take further action in this regard," he said.

Replying to questions, Virk said that the two women are free to go back to their country as their statement have been recorded before a judicial magistrate.