MUMBAI: Fourteen years after two city businessmen were accused of raping a 27-year-old South African model at a hotel, a sessions court acquitted them on Friday.

Suresh Krishnani and Sunil Morpani were arrested in 2006. They were subsequently granted bail.

The woman did not come before the court to depose despite several attempts made by the prosecution to get in touch with her.

The incident was alleged to have taken place in December 2005. The woman accused the men of spiking her drink at a pub, kidnapping her, raping her in a car and taking her to a Vile Parle hotel before raping her again.

It was alleged that when the woman regained consciousness, the two men allegedly assaulted her and she fell unconscious. The accused, both Ulhasnagar residents at the time, were arrested on the basis of the woman's description of them.

The woman had come to the city only four months before the incident to pursue a career in the film industry and even enrolled in an acting class. She lived alone in the western suburbs.

Over the years, the case was riddled with several delays. In September 2016, the prosecution informed the court that the woman was not traceable. The court then said: "It can be seen from the record that victim is a foreigner and she is reported not traceable on the given address. Hence, the special public prosecutor is directed to secure presence of other material witnesses."

Among those who deposed were police officials, panch witnesses and hotel staff. The accused denied such an incident had ever taken place. The prosecution closed its case after the deposition of the 15th witness on July 4 last year. The court then recorded the final statements of the accused. Subsequently, the prosecution and the defence submitted the final arguments and the matter was posted for judgement earlier this month.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)