German abducted from Taj, 145;molested146;

The girl had come out of the hotel to smoke and was reportedly in an inebriated state.

8220;According to the Taj8217;s security guards, one of the youth had a brief conversation with the girl. They pulled her into the Scorpio and sped away,8221; said a police officer.

Around 3 pm on Sunday, two of the accused dropped her at one of her friend8217;s house in Sector 20 in a white Maruti 800 HR 01-S-8874.

A case on charges of kidnapping and molestation has been registered against the accused at Sector-17 police station. The Chandigarh Police have rounded up a few suspects, who were subjected to interrogation.

A senior police officer said they were trying to trace both the vehicles used in the incident on the basis of their registration numbers.

8220;Raids are being conducted at various places in Punjab and Haryana to nab the accused. The perpetrators have been identified and will be arrested soon,8221; the police officer added.

8220;The girl sustained several injuries after the accused tried to rape her in the night. A medical examination of the victim will be conducted to ascertain whether she was raped. The matter is under investigation,8221; said Assistant Superintendent of Police, Madhur Verma.

The victim had come to Chandigarh on September 23 with her friends Hardeep Singh and Ina. Hardeep and Ina, a German national, got married last week and a reception party was scheduled for Sunday night.

According to the police, the trio had gone to Hotel Taj late on Saturday night for coffee and drinks.

When the victim did not return, Hardeep informed the Police Control Room. Messages were flashed all over, but the police failed to intercept the Mahindra Scorpio.

The girl8217;s statement

The victim told the police that she had gone out of the hotel for a puff, when she was approached by a youngster. He pushed her into the rear seat of the vehicle, where one of the accused sat over her and three others pushed her face into the seat so that she could not scream. They kept driving for about 90 minutes to two hours, after which she was taken to a house in the fields. She was shifted to another room from there and stripped. Then the accused tried to rape her. When the girl resisted, she was mercilessly beaten. According to the girl, the accused did not rape her. Around 9 am on Sunday, they started from the unidentified location and drove around for about three-four hours. Then, she was transported to a white Maruti and dropped in Sector 20.8221; The police are facing a tough time questioning the victim as she does not know much English.