South Sudanese student arrested in India over alleged rape

A South Sudanese student studying at a private university in Dehradun District in northern India was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a fellow student from Lesotho at his flat, police told local media.

The accused student whom we identified only as James, is aged 24 years and travelled there for studies from Juba.

He was arrested in Clement Town and produced in a local court which remanded him to judicial custody, according to New Delhi Television, a leading news network in India.

Mr. James was booked under Section 64 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – a local law indicating the severest punishment for rape which could carry 10 years to life in jail in the country.

It stipulates that “whoever commits rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

NDTV quoted the police as saying the survivor had opened a case in Delhi in connection with the incident accusing James, who was known to her, of raping her in his rented apartment after returning from a party.

NDTV also reported, citing Clement Town police, that signs of attempted rape were found during an investigation of the crime scene after which James was arrested and booked.

According to the complaint lodged by the survivor, the crime was committed on October 29.