LATEST: Indian police arrest five more men over attack on Brazilian biker in Dumka
The sexual assault of a Brazilian biker and her husband by a gang in India's eastern state of Jharkhand has sparked widespread outrage as crimes against women continue to pose a problem to authorities in the country.
The woman, in her thirties, and her husband, in his sixties, were travelling on their motorcycles from India to Nepal when they were attacked by a group of men in the Dumka district. The couple had reportedly arrived from Bangladesh.
Four men have been arrested over the incident so far.
They were spending the night at a makeshift tent in a remote part of Kurmahat, in the Hansdiha area of the district, on Friday when they were allegedly attacked by at least seven men.
In a social media post, the woman said the group barged into the tent and sexually assaulted her. The men were also accused of beating the couple and stealing 10,000 rupees ($120) in cash and a ring.
“Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone. Seven men have raped me,” the woman said in a video posted on Instagram. The couple have documented their travels under the blog name Vicente y Fernanda.
“They have beaten us and robbed us, although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me,” she said in Spanish as her husband also appeared in the video. She had bruises on her face.
Her husband said in a separate post that they were hit on the head with a helmet and a stone. “My mouth is destroyed but my partner is worse than me,” he said.
The couple were seen by a police patrol van at about 10.30pm and taken to hospital. Doctors confirmed the woman was raped.
“Initially, the patrolling party did not understand much of the incident because the woman was speaking partly in English and partly in Spanish. They were taken to a nearby health centre,” senior police officer Pitamber Singh Kherwa said.
“I received a call around 1.30am and rushed to the spot for verification. Special teams formed to crack the case are conducting raids and will arrest the rest soon."
India's National Commission for Women condemned the incident called on asked state police to complete their investigation quickly.
The alleged attack sparked outrage in the country, where tens of thousands of sexual assault cases are reported by women every year.
Indian actress Richa Chadha said on social media that the incident was shameful, while Emmy-award-winning comedian Vir Das demanded the “strictest punishment” for those responsible.
“A shameful act that we must show will not be tolerated,” he said on social media.
India has introduced stringent laws to end the impunity of offenders of sexual attacks, a move that came after a 23-year-old student was assaulted in December 2012, leading to street protests.
More than 31,500 sexual assault cases were reported in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. At least 22 cases related to the rape of foreign citizens.
The conviction rate was 27.4 per cent.
