NEW DELHI, JULY 8: The lights were soft and the diners could be seen only in silhouette. July 5 was a busy night and no one recalls the faces of those at Club 69. However, they do remember that the 26-year-old NRI, who was allegedly raped in a car later that night, was not alone.Pointing towards the table at the corner, Rajesh, the waiter who served her at Club 69 in Greater Kailash-II, says: ``I had gone inside, to the kitchen, to place some orders. When I came out into the restaurant after a few minutes, I saw that the table was occupied. A young woman was sitting there with two men. I, of course, assumed that they had all walked in together, because you can't befriend strangers in a few minutes. However, I am not sure.''But, the doorman insists he saw her walking in alone. Says Dhruv Lal: ``I was at the door and I remember that she walked in alone at around 9.30 pm or so.''Says Rajesh, who served the trio a beer: ``When I began to pour, one of the men said he would do it himself and so I left themalone. The woman shared the beer with one of the men and they did not order anything else. However, some time later, another man from an adjoining table joined them. They all sat and chatted amiably for around an hour and then left.''However, talking to The Indian Express, the woman said she had met them briefly at the restaurant along with several others. ``I was sitting alone in the restaurant. These two men offered me a drink, but I refused. However, after the manager intervened and assured me that they were regular customers, I accepted their offer,'' she said.While, the restaurant's manager was not available for comment, the waiters at the hotel said he did not say anything. ``It is a restaurant-cum-bar like any other. Neither any of us nor the manager had any discussion of any sort with her,'' said Rajesh.The woman also said the two men offered her a lift, while she was trying to find an auto-rickshaw. ``The two appeared friendly and anyway, I was not able to get an auto, so I thought Iwould go with them.''The three of them then went to a few discos and it was on the way back that one of them allegedly raped her and the other molested her. ``I pleaded with them to let me go. I also told them that I was the mother of a child. However, when they threatened to kill me, I gave in,'' she said.She added that she managed to get the car's registration papers when the two stopped the car. ``They stopped the car, stood outside and conferred for around 15 minutes. During that time, I was locked inside the car and I managed to sneak out the car papers,'' she explained.She is married to a Japanese. Her mother is a Swiss national and her late father was an Indian. She has been coming to India often in connection with her import-export business.A sessions court yesterday, remanded one of the accused - Manjit Singh - to 14 days' judicial custody. Search is still on for the other accused - Raj Gupta.
