Wellington:
Three Indians accused of raping a woman in Hamilton two years ago have been found not guilty by a jury in New Zealand today and will be deported to India.
A jury of seven women and five men in the high court of Hamilton found Harvinder Singh, Kamaljeet Singh and Sumit Vermani not guilty in the rape case that allegedly took place in a house on a road leading to Lake Rotorua on the intervening night of April 16-17, 2011, media reports said.
The judge ruled that the men had treated the woman as an object of sexual gratification while one man admitted he had consensual sex with her.
Vermani's lawyer, Mike Robb, was quoted by stuff.co.nz as saying that at the instruction of the New Zealand immigration department, the trio would be deported to India.
A fourth accused, Amir Chand, was acquitted without conviction May 24 and has been deported to India.
The woman, whose nationality has not been revealed, had claimed that the four men raped her during the Hamilton 400 weekend, the V8 supercar racing event that took place on the streets of that New Zealand city.
While Amir Chand, Harvinder and Sumit are from Hamilton, Kamaljeet is from Kaitkati town in New Zealand's North Island.
After Thursday's ruling, Harvinder, Kamaljeet and Vermani were handcuffed and taken to the Hamilton Central Police Station.
As the men had been charged with rape and subsequently had to face a trial, they could not apply for residency and hence will be deported to India.
According to the reports, the jury had retired this morning after being told by Justice Venning that the definition of consent was crucial in this particular case and took four hours before reaching their verdicts.