American woman raped in Hyderabad

A 30-year-old American woman working with the Clinton Foundation here was allegedly raped at knife point at her posh Banjara Hills penthouse here early Wednesday morning by a youth who also fled with Rs five lakh, police said.

A youth has been picked up in connection with the case and was being interrogated, a senior police officer involved in the investigation said this evening.

The incident took place between 3 am and 4 am when the woman was alone at her rented residence located on Road No 11. An intruder barged into the penthouse and sexually assaulted her at knife point. He also forcibly took away Rs 5 lakh cash from her, Banjara Hills police inspector Sudarshan said.

"There are some clues available and these are being examined," city Police Commissioner AK Khan, who visited the victim's house, said. The woman has lodged a complaint saying she was raped by an unidentified youth, Khan said.

Two police teams have been formed to track down the rapist based on the description given by her. Dog squads were also pressed into service. The victim has been admitted to a hospital here and reports of her medical tests were awaited, he said.

"The woman has been staying as a tenant in the house from October 2009. She is working as a nutritionist in the NGO...the incident took place between 3 am and 4 am," DCP Hyderabad West Zone Stephen Ravindra said.

Senior police officers, including Police Commissioner AK Khan, visited her house this morning. When contacted, a US embassy spokesperson in New Delhi said, "we are aware of the report. We cannot comment or provide further details at this time".