Four men in India have been arrested for allegedly raping a Spanish woman during a motorbike tour with her husband. The couple was attacked on Friday night in the Dumka district of India’s eastern state of Jharkhand while camping for the night.
The couple runs an Instagram page documenting their journey by motorbike across South Asia. They recently shared a video detailing their horrifying experience in India.
The couple, bearing visible bruises and injuries on their faces, recounted being physically assaulted. The woman was also raped by seven men.
In the video, the man, whose lower lip was swollen, says in Spanish, ‘They beat us. They put a knife to my neck and told me they were going to kill me.’
The attackers had also beaten and robbed them, although their main objective was to rape the speaker. The video stated that seven men had raped the speaker, who was currently at the hospital with the police.
The Dumka police officer, Pitamber Singh Kherwar, confirmed that all the accused had been identified and that four of them had confessed to the crime.
Police confirmed that the woman was sexually assaulted after a medical examination. The couple is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital in Dumka.
They were partway through a biking tour across South Asia, having already travelled to Pakistan and Bangladesh. According to officers, they entered India through West Bengal and were heading for Nepal.
They pitched their tents in a semi-forested area, located 2km away from the main road. Around seven men entered the couple’s tent and attacked them, robbing them of their belongings.
Later that night, the couple stopped a police patrol vehicle and were taken to a hospital due to their injuries.
The Spanish embassy in India is in contact with local authorities and has sent a representative to the region.
The video of the distressed couple has gone viral on social media, with many expressing outrage. A user described the incident as ‘shameful’ and a ‘nightmare’.
Bollywood actor Richa Chadha commented on the issue, stating that ‘Indians are treating foreigners like they treat their own women’.
According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, close to 90 rapes were reported daily in India in 2022. However, it is probable that the actual number is higher. This is because many cases go unreported due to the stigma surrounding victims and a lack of trust in police investigations.
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