President's guards in 'rape' arrests

Members of the president's guard are accused of rape

Four Indian presidential guards have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a young woman in the capital, Delhi.

The four men were produced in court on Wednesday, and have been sent to judicial custody.

They are believed to belong to an elite detachment of mounted cavalry guarding President Abdul Kalam.

The incident is alleged to have taken place in a park in the heart of Delhi's diplomatic enclave on Monday.

Senior police official Manoj Lall told the BBC the girl, a student of Delhi University, was in the park with a male companion when the guards allegedly assaulted both of them.

He said one of the guards robbed her friend, while two of them raped the girl in the park.

Army inquiry

Police say a medical examination has established that she was sexually assaulted.

The incident is said to have taken place in the middle of the day.

The army has opened its own inquiry, the AFP news agency reports.

"Our unit has never been accused of such a crime before," it quoted an unnamed source from the presidential palace as saying.

"We will take all measures to establish if the accused are guilty."