Men Accused in Gang Rape Remanded to 14-Day Police Custody

Strdel/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty Images Police kept a check on vehicles in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, following the rape of an American tourist in the north Indian town on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI â€"The three men accused in the rape of a 30-year-old American woman in Manali were sent to judicial custody for 14 days on Friday, the Himachal Pradesh Police said.

The suspects, all of whom are from Nepal, refused to let the victim try to identify them in a magistrate’s court, which comes under the jurisdiction of Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, according to the police.

“We had submitted an application for an identification parade, but the accused protested and said that they did not want to be presented for the parade,” said Vinod Kumar Dhawan, the superintendent of police in the Kullu district.

The victim was not present in the court on Friday. The police did not say whether she was still in Manali, citing the sensitivity of the case.

The woman, who was staying at a guesthouse in the old part of Manali, reported that she had been raped very early Tuesday morning as she was making her way back from Vashisht, which is about two miles north of Manali. She said she was offered a ride in the truck by three men, who then took her to a secluded spot and raped her.

Mr. Dhawan told India Ink that the magistrate said, “the denial to be identified could go against” the accused once the trial begins. The men were arrested Thursday in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where the alleged crime was committed.

The investigation in the case has been concluded and a charge sheet will be filed Monday, the police said.