Three men have been detained and a hunt is on four of their accomplices after they allegedly raped a Spanish woman in Dumka district of Jharkhand, beat up her husband, and stole some of their belongings, police officers said on Saturday.
The woman, 30, is a Spanish national and her husband, 64, is a Brazilian national. The two were touring South Asia on a motorcycle, officers said. They had already travelled to Pakistan and then Bangladesh, and on the third leg of their Asia tour entered India through West Bengal, the officers said. From here, they were to go to Bihar and then Nepal.
Around 5pm on Friday, the couple reached Dumka, and set up a tent in the forest of Kunji Basti, about 2km from Kurmahat. The seven men attacked the couple near their tent, the officers said.
When the couple tried to resist the rape bid, the accused thrashed the man, and later fled with their belongings, the officers said.
The incident came to light at around 11pm, when a patrolling team from Hansdiha police station spotted the couple near the Dumka-Bhagalpur road near the forest where they were camping. The woman used Google translate to narrate the incident to the police, and the patrolling team rushed them to Saraiyahat Community Health Centre where doctors confirmed assault.
“The patrolling team sensed that something had happened to them. Since they were speaking in Spanish, the police could not understand what they were saying. The policemen brought them to a local hospital,” Dumka superintendent of police Pitambar Singh Kherwar said.
While the police did not say why the accused attacked the couple in the first place, a video of the two narrating the crime has been shared widely on social media where they alleged that the main motive of the accused was to rape the woman.
“They have beaten us and robbed us although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me,” the woman said, in Spanish in a video shared on Instagram.
“The investigation started as soon as we received the information. We spoke to the victim. Thereafter, we detained some people and during interrogation, they admitted their involvement. The accused also took some other names. We have formed a team and raids are being conducted to nab the other accused. We are also taking the help of a forensic team and the CID in this regard,” Kherwar said.
The police did not divulge details of the case that has been filed in the matter or the charges that the accused have been detained under.
Dumka Civil Surgeon Baccha Prasad Singh told PTI that the woman and her husband were undergoing treatment at Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital in Dumka where they reached on motorcycles from Saraiyahat Community Health Centre, covering a distance of about 60km with police escort.
“Both are out of danger and are undergoing treatment at the hospital. The man has sustained minor injuries. The medical examination of the victim will be done by a medical board comprising three gynaecologists, a radiologist, an orthopaedic and a dentist, headed by superintendent of the medical college, Dr Anupuran Purti,” the civil surgeon said.
One of the detained accused confessed to the crime and gave details about the absconding accused, Kherwar said. The accused are aged between 20 and 30, the officer said.
The incident also led to a political controversy in the state with the Godda BJP legislator Amit Mandal raising the issue in the state assembly and accusing the police of trying to protect the accused.
Mandal demanded the suspension of Dumka SP. “The incident has not only ashamed Jharkhand but the entire country. The SP and Hansdiha police station in-charge are trying to whitewash the issue. The culprits are being provided political patronage. I demand that a probe committee be set up and stringent punishment be ensured against those involved in the crime,” he said.
Godda MP Nishikant Dubey targeted the state government.
“In this state, neither Adivasis nor Dalits are safe… Now this has become an international matter that a Spanish woman comes with her husband to India, and it comes to light that she has been gang-raped… I appeal to CM Champai Soren to concentrate on law and order in the state. If posting will take place based on any caste then this sort of incident will occur often,” he said.
(With agency inputs)
