President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday warned that India's image and prestige abroad will suffer if the police failed to arrest the guilty in last month's rape of a Swiss diplomat in Delhi.
A Ministry of Home Affairs official said the president said this while addressing a group of director generals of police visiting him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Also see: No headway in Swiss diplomat's rape case
A Swiss diplomat was abducted as she stepped out of the prestigious Siri Fort auditorium on October 15 and raped in a car.
The victim later described the rapist as 'well dressed, suave and English speaking.' She also said that he lectured her on Indian traditions for almost 20 minutes in fluent English.
The President expressed disappointment over the fact that there has been no headway in the case despite repeated assurances from the police that they were hot on the rapist's trail.
The official pointed out that Swiss President Pascal Couchepin, who arrived in Bangalore on Friday, is in India on President Kalam's invitation.
Please see: Swiss president promises to expand relations with India
He said the President will meet his Swiss counterpart on November 10.
"The President gave a dressing down to Delhi Police Commissioner Radhey Shyam Gupta [on Thursday] asking him why the law and order situation is deteriorating and women are being targeted in the city. After all, the president has to explain to President Couchepin why no breakthrough has been achieved in the case," the official said.
When the Swiss embassy in Delhi was contacted, an official said: "Our demand is that the criminals must be apprehended and justice be done. We have nothing more to add."
