Japanese women allege gang-rape in India's Agra city By By dpa news Sep 24, 2007 in Crime Two Japanese women tourists were allegedly kept in confinement and raped by three men in India's Taj Mahal city of Agra, news reports said Monday. The Indian police registered a criminal case on Sunday after the victims, in their early 20s, informed the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi about the incident, the Hindu newspaper reported. The women reached Agra, located about 200 kilometres south of Indian capital New Delhi in the Uttar Pradesh state, on September 19 where they made friends with two Indian men. In their complaint to the police, the women alleged that they were taken to a hotel room where they were drugged and sexually abused by the men. The tourists said they were kept confined in the room for three days and subsequently another man joined the culprits to allegedly assault them. The accused later put them on a Delhi-bound taxi on Saturday where they took a flight back for home in the evening. Police said medical and forensic tests of the victims were conducted at a state-run hospital in New Delhi and investigations into the case had begun. There have been some incidents of rape of foreign tourists in India's tourist cities in northern Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states which have left the administration worried. Last year, courts in Rajasthan sentenced two men to seven years' imprisonment, in separate cases involving rapes of foreign tourists. Agra is among India's most popular tourist destinations as it is home to the Taj Mahal, which was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his queen Mumtaz Mahal and is seen as a symbol of eternal love. dpa sk jh The Indian police registered a criminal case on Sunday after the victims, in their early 20s, informed the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi about the incident, the Hindu newspaper reported.The women reached Agra, located about 200 kilometres south of Indian capital New Delhi in the Uttar Pradesh state, on September 19 where they made friends with two Indian men.In their complaint to the police, the women alleged that they were taken to a hotel room where they were drugged and sexually abused by the men.The tourists said they were kept confined in the room for three days and subsequently another man joined the culprits to allegedly assault them.The accused later put them on a Delhi-bound taxi on Saturday where they took a flight back for home in the evening.Police said medical and forensic tests of the victims were conducted at a state-run hospital in New Delhi and investigations into the case had begun.There have been some incidents of rape of foreign tourists in India's tourist cities in northern Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states which have left the administration worried.Last year, courts in Rajasthan sentenced two men to seven years' imprisonment, in separate cases involving rapes of foreign tourists.Agra is among India's most popular tourist destinations as it is home to the Taj Mahal, which was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his queen Mumtaz Mahal and is seen as a symbol of eternal love. dpa sk jh More about India, Crime, Tourism, Japan india crime tourism japan