Outrage has been sparked by the reported gang rape of a tourist in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand who is dual-national Brazilian-Spanish.
When the alleged incident occurred, the 28-year-old woman and her husband were on a motorcycling tour and had stopped for the night in the Dumki region.
According to the police, they are looking for three additional guys and have taken four into custody.
The men’s identities, who are also charged with assaulting the woman’s partner, are still unknown.
Before coming to India a few months ago, the couple had ridden their motorcycles throughout different regions of Asia.
The woman uploaded a video to their 234,000-follower Instagram profile over the weekend.
“I was raped by seven men. She claimed in Spanish, “They have beaten us and robbed us, but not many things [were taken] because what they wanted was to rape me.” The men had also threatened to kill them.
The husband, who is Spanish, stated in a different video: “My partner is worse than me, but my mouth is damaged. They have repeatedly struck me in the head with a stone and the helmet. Thankfully, the jacket she was wearing deflects some of the impacts.”
On their page, the videos are no longer available.
Pitamber Singh Kherwar, the superintendent of police in Dumka, informed reporters that the pair flagged down a patrol van and were treated at a nearby health clinic.
“At first, the patrolling team was unable to comprehend the pair because of their mixed Spanish and English speech. However, they seemed obviously hurt, so they were brought for medical attention,” he said, adding that the couple later informed the medical staff about the alleged rape.
Both the woman and her husband “were victims of a serious criminal attack,” the Brazilian embassy in India said to the HHM. The couple entered India using Spanish passports, therefore the embassy claimed it had been in touch with the woman, the local government, and the Spanish embassy as well.
“The Spanish embassy said that it had offered all the assistance available, including psychological care, but that the victims had declined the offer as they were already being looked after by the Indian emergency services,” the Brazilian Embassy stated, adding that it would continue with “monitor all developments” .
The Spanish embassy has been contacted by the HHM to request a statement.
“On X (previously Twitter), we must remain unified in our resolve to eradicate violence against women globally,” the Spanish embassy in India stated on Sunday.
Speaking about rape and sexual violence gained prominence in India following the 2012 Delhi bus gang rape and death of a young lady, which sparked massive demonstrations and altered the nation’s rape legislation. However, advocates point out that there is still more work to be done in order to address the issue of the tens of thousands of reported rapes each year.
A number of ladies over the weekend related their experiences of being the target of unwelcome sexual advances while visiting India.
Rekha Sharma, the head of the Indian National Commission for Women, also came under fire after she replied to a post made by a US journalist who claimed that although India was one of his favourite countries, “the level of sexual aggression” he saw there was “unlike anywhere else I have ever been.” He also provided a few instances of sexual assault that he knew had happened to women.
“Did you ever report the incident to police?” The writer is Ms. Sharma. “If not, you are a completely careless person. It’s not a smart idea to write exclusively on social media and disparage the entire nation.”
People on social media began criticizing the answer in droves.
Additionally, a number of people have shown support and sorrow for the couple in the comments section of their YouTube and Instagram videos.
BY- HHM