India has arrested three men for allegedly gang-raping a foreign tourist
The couple, who were traveling on a motorcycle from the state of West Bengal to neighboring Nepa
Police in eastern India have arrested three men for allegedly gang-raping a foreign tourist and assaulting her husband as they search for four more suspects in a case that highlights the country’s decades-long struggle to curb sexual violence against women.
The couple, who were traveling on a motorcycle from the state of West Bengal to neighboring Nepal, were found late on Friday by police officers on patrol, said Pitambar Singh Kherwar, superintendent of police of Dumka district in Jharkhand state.
They were taken to the hospital, where the woman told the doctor that she had been raped.
Police know the identity of the wanted suspects and have formed a special investigation team, Kherwar said. It is unclear whether the three arrested suspects have legal representation.
CNN is not releasing the name of the female victim in accordance with an Indian law that prohibits naming victims of sexual violence. Police have not released the couple’s names or nationalities.
The couple posts in Spanish and the woman says she is Brazilian on her Instagram page.
On their Instagram story, the woman showed the bruises on her face and said: “This is what my face looks like, but it’s not what hurts the most. I thought I was going to die.”
In a follow-up post on Sunday, the couple thanked their followers for their support and said they were doing well and that “the police are doing everything they can to catch” the remaining suspects.
CNN reached out to the couple for comment.
India’s National Commission for Women (NCW) condemned the alleged attack.
NCW president Rekha Sharma spoke to the victim and provided all the assistance required, the organization said on social media platform X on Saturday.
Jharkhand Minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur called the alleged attack a “reprehensible incident”.
“If a crime has been committed, the guilty will not be spared,” he said on Saturday.
For years, India has struggled to deal with high rates of violence against women, with a number of high-profile rape cases involving foreign visitors drawing international attention to the issue.
