Tibetan nurse gang raped in hotel Oberoi

Hours after prime minister Narendra Modi gave a call from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day that parents should temper their sons' views on and about women, a Tibetan nurse was gang-raped in the Oberoi Hotel in south-east Delhi by two men. And as it has been, from Goa to New Delhi, vital clues in this case too were captured by CCTV cameras.

The police said the two accused, Neeraj (25) from Bulandshahr in western UP, and Rajan (20) from Ferozabad, also in western UP, are now cooling their heels in Tihar Jail where they were sent after being produced before a magistrate.

The 27-year-old nurse was raped by the two men on three different occasions, from August 15 to August 17. The traumatised woman told her husband after the duo gang-raped her for a third time on Sunday night. The woman also confided in her colleagues who too urged her to report the crime. On Monday, the woman's husband took her to Nizamuddin Police Station, and the police lodged an FIR after a "medical" on the nurse confirmed rape.

The nurse told the police she was on a 12-hour shift at the hotel to take care of the medical needs of the hotel owner, PRS Oberoi's bedridden wife. The hotel had a 4-year contract with the hospital, which stipulated that three nurses working in three shifts would take care of the 80-year-old invalid, who has been living in the hotel owner's family suite in the hotel.

The hotel on Tuesday took pains to clear its name of the taint. It reiterated that the men, employed as attendants to aid the nurses, were not employees of the hotel, leaving it open to conjecture that they were employed by the Oberoi family. "The incident is very unfortunate. The individuals in question are not hotel employees," Deepica Sarma, the hotel's communication manager said.

The police, meanwhile, said investigations were on, and that examination of CCTV footage will give clarity to the investigations. The Oberoi Hotel, like other hotels, have CCTV cameras installed on all floors.

There are conflicting reports on where exactly the nurse was raped. One report said she was raped in the guestroom of the hotel owner's family suite. Another said the men took her to their room in the hotel and raped her there. If the second is true, their movement between rooms must have been captured in camera, said a police officer.

There are other conflicting aspects. The rape survivor said she was "gagged" and raped. She also said she screamed but that the 80-year-old invalid who was in the other room in the suite could not hear her screams. She also told the police that after the first time she was raped by the two men, she returned to work the next day and "acted normal" as she was scared of the rapists, who had threatened her with dire consequences. With all those contradictions, images captured on CCTV can alone unlock the case.