Chinese woman retracts rape cry

Argora police station in Ranchi, where the Chinese woman lodged the FIR on April 16

A Chinese woman, who had lodged a rape FIR against a fellow countryman last week, did a turnaround on Sunday and sought to withdraw the complaint, landing Ranchi police in a spot as they have forwarded the case to civil court.

The 24-year-old woman, employee of a Chinese firm, has been sent by her company along with two colleagues for a project in Mecon. The three have been staying at separate flats in an apartment complex in Argora area for the past six months. On April 16, the lady walked into Argora police station and lodged an FIR, accusing one of the colleagues, Chu Hang Ho (32), of raping her on April 13 when she was alone at her flat.

Police, who sent her for medical examinations to sadar hospital, were conducting investigations when suddenly she came back on Sunday and expressed her wish to withdraw the FIR. She claimed that she had not been raped.

However, investigating officer Gariban Paswan said they were not in a position to help much as the case had already been sent to the court.

“The woman has been asked to go to the court to withdraw the case. This apart, we are yet to get her medical report, which alone can establish whether she was sexually assaulted,” Paswan added.

A police officer at Argora, however, said that the woman appeared to have retracted her statement after being counselled by her other male colleague.

“It seems that the other friend, who is in his 50s, urged her to withdraw the case against the accused. This man had also come to the police station along with the woman and the accused. This case is proving to be real trouble for us. As it is, we are having a tough time conversing with the trio as they speak English in Chinese accent. It’s difficult to understand what they are saying,” the officer said.

Superintendent of police (city) Anup Birthare said the lady and her two colleagues work for China-based Longpin Company, which prepares metal objects on the basis of designs given to it. “We are seeking help from senior officials of the company to solve the case,” he added.