US Tourist Says She Was Gang-Raped in India

Four men have been arrested in India after a US tourist says she was gang-raped but only remembered the assault three months later. The 25-year-old teacher from Pennsylvania claims she was given drugged water in her room at the five-star Park Hotel in New Delhi and then raped by five men on April 8 and 9. She tells NDTV that she returned to the US with no memory of the assault but "regained my memory ... towards [the] end of July," and then filed a complaint through an American NGO. She returned to India last week to give a statement and identify the accused—described as a tour guide, bus driver, driver's assistant, and hotel employee—because she was "not confident" with the progress of the investigation, per the Indian Express.

Though four suspects were arrested Monday, they had initially been cleared by a travel agency that employs them, reports the Press Trust of India, per ABC Australia. When questioned, the men reportedly told investigators they were being falsely accused, noting the woman had voluntarily traveled with them to the Taj Mahal a day after the alleged assault. However, a police rep says the victim "helped us collect clinching evidence" upon her return to India. The woman also told police that the men threatened to release a video of the assault and claimed to have raped other female tourists, reports the Express. The woman, expected to return to the US on Tuesday, says the arrests are a "positive step," per the Guardian. (More India stories.)