A day after the Gurgaon police booked a Saudi diplomat for allegedly raping and holding hostage two Nepalese women at his flat, Saudi Ambassador to India Saud Mohammed Alsati, along with some embassy officials, today met senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and protested the police action.
Official sources said the Ambassador met Joint Secretary Thanglura Darlong in the MEA and protested against the “police intrusion” into the house of the diplomat, in the rank of first secretary in the embassy. The act, he claimed, was against the Vienna Convention. The Article 30 of the Vienna Convention states that the private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same inviolability and protection as the premises of the mission.
In response, the MEA sought an explanation from the Gurgaon police, asking them to submit a detailed report on the registration of the case and raid. The police have submitted a detailed report to the MEA after a medical re-examination of the Nepalese women confirmed sexual assault.
The sources claimed that the investigation may be shifted to another investigating agency. The embassy of Saudi Arabia issued a statement terming as “false” the allegations of sexual assault against the diplomat. The statement said the embassy has also brought to the notice of the officials concerned in the MEA the “unwarranted media briefings before investigations are complete” intrusion into a diplomat's house against "all diplomatic conventions."
The police, however, denied violating any norms. “The local police at the time of proceeding to the spot for investigation was completely unaware of the identity of the apartment residents. Also, the Indian police are legally mandated to register an FIR and commence investigations into any offence which discloses rape in the territorial Jurisdiction of India,” said Commissioner of Police Navdeep Singh Virk. He said there was no bar on registration of case against a person for rape even if he is a foreign diplomat. The arrest or detention is covered under the Vienna Convention and, thus, following it we wrote to MEA for further instructions.
Official sources said the Ambassador met Joint Secretary Thanglura Darlong in the MEA and protested against the “police intrusion” into the house of the diplomat, in the rank of first secretary in the embassy. The act, he claimed, was against the Vienna Convention. The Article 30 of the Vienna Convention states that the private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same inviolability and protection as the premises of the mission.
In response, the MEA sought an explanation from the Gurgaon police, asking them to submit a detailed report on the registration of the case and raid. The police have submitted a detailed report to the MEA after a medical re-examination of the Nepalese women confirmed sexual assault.
The sources claimed that the investigation may be shifted to another investigating agency. The embassy of Saudi Arabia issued a statement terming as “false” the allegations of sexual assault against the diplomat. The statement said the embassy has also brought to the notice of the officials concerned in the MEA the “unwarranted media briefings before investigations are complete” intrusion into a diplomat's house against "all diplomatic conventions."
The police, however, denied violating any norms. “The local police at the time of proceeding to the spot for investigation was completely unaware of the identity of the apartment residents. Also, the Indian police are legally mandated to register an FIR and commence investigations into any offence which discloses rape in the territorial Jurisdiction of India,” said Commissioner of Police Navdeep Singh Virk. He said there was no bar on registration of case against a person for rape even if he is a foreign diplomat. The arrest or detention is covered under the Vienna Convention and, thus, following it we wrote to MEA for further instructions.
