Swiss Tourist has been gang-raped in India and her Husband beaten before being robbed.

Last Updated: 3:34PM 16/03/2013



A Swiss tourist has been gang-raped in India and she and her husband were beaten before being robbed, police said.
The pair were on a cycling trip in the impoverished Madhya Pradesh state, when they were attacked by seven to eight men.
The perpetrators tied up the man and raped the woman in his presence, police official S M Afzal said.
He added they stole 10,000 rupees (£122) and a mobile phone from the woman.
The attack comes just a few days after the man accused of leading the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus was found hanged in his prison cell.
Police say Ram Singh took his own life in the high-security Tihar jail where he had been on suicide watch in an isolated cell.
The case made headlines around the world and raised the issue of sexual violence against women in India.
The student's internal injuries were so horrific she died two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore despite surgery to try to save her.
The latest attack happened at a village near Datia where the 39-year-old woman and her husband were camping.
They had stopped there while on their way from Orchha to the tourist destination of Agra, home to the iconic Taj Mahal monument.
Police said 13 men were detained in connection with the attack. Six of them were later released.
According to the woman's husband, a group of seven men with lathis (wooden sticks) in their hands overpowered him.
He said four of them gang-raped his wife and then beat him up.
The woman was taken to a hospital in Gwalior where a medical examination confirmed that she was gang-raped.
The couple will be asked to try to identify the accused, NDTV reported. Police said the pair apparently did not suffer any major injuries.
The chairman of India's national commission for women, Mamata Sharma, slammed the provincial government of Madhya Pradesh over its failure to curb violence against women.
She said: "The government should pay attention towards what is happening with the foreigners.
"I have said this for the past few days that the crime against women in Madhya Pradesh is increasing and the government should take stringent action to put an end to such incidents.
"Many incidents of violence against women have come into the limelight in Madhya Pradesh but the government is completely insensitive towards them.
"The accused should be punished and we should see what kind of image of India we are presenting to the outside world. The government should take strict action."
Sky's Alex Rossi, reporting from Delhi, said of the gang rape: "This is another shocking case of violence against women, highlighting the very real problems that women face in this country on a day-to-day basis.
He added: "Foreign tourists, especially single women, face problems of unwanted sexual harassment in this country.
"This area of Madhya Pradesh in central India is known for its banditry. It is fairly lawless and it is also very poor."

Last Updated: 1:35PM 17/03/2013



Six villagers in India have confessed to the gang rape of a Swiss tourist, according to police.

The woman was on a cycling holiday with her husband in Madhya Pradesh state when they were attacked.
The six men were all arrested after they admitted to the crime, a spokesman said.
The alleged rapists live in a village near the forested area where the couple had stopped to camp for the night.
They were en route to the popular tourist destination of Agra in northern India.
"They were passing by, noticed the couple putting up their tent and saw an opportunity to attack and rape the woman," local police official M S Dhodee said.
It is believed the man was beaten and tied to a tree while his wife was sexually assaulted.
The woman, who is thought to be around 39, was treated in hospital but released on Saturday.
The Swiss embassy said it was in touch with local authorities in Madhya Pradesh and has urged a "swift investigation and for justice to be done".
The attack comes just a few days after the man accused of leading the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus was found hanged in his prison cell.
Police say Ram Singh took his own life in the high-security Tihar jail, where he had been on suicide watch in an isolated cell.
The case made headlines around the world and raised the issue of sexual violence against women in India.
The student's internal injuries were so horrific she died two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore despite surgery to try to save her.
Four other men and a juvenile are on trial for that attack.
One woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
But police estimate only four out of 10 rapes are reported, largely due to victims' fear of being shamed by their families and communities.

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