I was raped,says German

She identified Harpreet Singh alias Dalli as the one who committed rape on her first.

The daylong in-camera proceedings will continue in the court on Saturday when the victim will be cross-examined.

Sources said the woman actively supported the prosecution and identified the five accused present in the court by their names.

She was accompanied by her father and two officials from the German Embassy. The victim told the court that she was picked up from Hotel Taj and later molested and raped by the five in a farmhouse in Samalkha. She spoke in German and was assisted by two interpreters.

The victim said she initially drove the black Scorpio car of the accused but was soon overpowered and taken to the farmhouse.

The woman was in the city in September 2008 to attend a friend’s wedding. The five had held her captive for over 12 hours and assaulted and raped her,allegations which were strongly supported by the victim today.

The five men have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukhi,Harpreet Singh alias Dalli,Pankaj Punia,Manvir Singh Jolly and Sompal.

Sources said the 20-year-old acknowledged that Pankaj Punia dropped her back to her Sector 20 accommodation the next evening.

This is the first time the victim said she was raped. She had earlier maintained that she was only molested. The forensic examination report of the victim by the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL),however,had confirmed rape,following which charges were framed against the five accused.

Interpreter falls unconscious
One of the two interpreters fell unconscious while translating the victim’s statements. He was rushed to a Sector 16 hospital.

Trial draws huge crowd
A battery of mediapersons,lawyers and local residents waited outside the district courts since early morning. The German arrived amid tight security at 10.30 am in the court and left at 5 pm in the evening. She was escorted inside the court by the police. However,when she came out in the evening her face was muffled and she was again escorted by the police to the hotel.