Swiss tourist gang-raped in central India

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A Swiss woman (center) who, according to police, was gang-raped by a group of eight men while touring by bicycle with her husband, is escorted by policewomen for a medical examination at a hospital in Gwalior, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Saturday, March 16, 2013. Thirteen men were detained and questioned in connection with the attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officer R.K. Gurjar said. The men beat the couple and gang-raped the woman, he said. They also stole the couple's mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185), Gurjar said. (AP Photo)
Indian children participate in a protest against child abuse and rising crimes against women, in Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, March 16, 2013. India has seen outrage and widespread protests against rape and attacks on women and minors since a fatal gang-rape of a young woman in December on a moving bus in New Delhi, the capital. In the most recent case, a Swiss woman who was on a cycling trip in central India with her husband has been gang-raped by eight men, police said. Placard reads: "Our safety is your responsibility." (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
Indian students shout slogans during a protest rally in Hyderabad, India, in December 2012. The main suspect in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman on a New Delhi bus, an attack that horrified Indians and set off national protests, committed suicide in jail Monday, March 11, 2013 police officials said. The brutal attack on Dec. 16 2012 set off nationwide protests about India's treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)

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March 16, 2013

Swiss tourist gang-raped in central India

By Nicholas Riccardi Associated Press Sat Mar 16, 2013, 03:18 PM CDT

NEW DELHI — A Swiss woman who was on a cycling trip in central India with her husband has been gang-raped by eight men, police said Saturday. The attack comes three months after the fatal gang-rape of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus outraged Indians.

Authorities detained and questioned 13 men in connection with the latest attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest in Madhya Pradesh state after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officer R.K. Gurjar said.

The men beat the couple and gang-raped the woman, he said. They also stole the couple’s mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185).

The woman, 39, was treated at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior, Gurjar said.

A photo showed the woman walking while being escorted by police to the hospital. Her face was concealed with a hood, a common practice in India, where law does not allow rape victims to be identified publicly to protect them from the stigma attached to rape in the conservative country.

Police detained 13 men and questioned them, Gurjar said. Six of the men were released after questioning. No other details were immediately available.

Indian television stations showed scores of police searching the forest where the attack occurred.

Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Tilman Renz described the case as “deeply disturbing” and said Swiss diplomats were assisting the couple.

The diplomats called on Indian authorities “to do everything to quickly find the perpetrators so that they can be held accountable,” Renz said in a statement.

Last month, the Swiss government issued a travel notice for India that included a warning about “increasing numbers of rapes and other sexual offenses” in the South Asian nation.

Swiss tourist gang-raped in India: police

India Police: December 2012 Gang Rape Suspect Killed Self

India has seen outrage and widespread protests against attacks on women since December’s fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi, the capital. The crime horrified Indians and set off nationwide protests about India’s treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them.

One of six suspects in the December attack was found dead in a New Delhi jail this past week. Authorities said he hanged himself, but his family and lawyer insisted foul play was involved. A magistrate is investigating. Four other men and a juvenile remain on trial for the attack.

———

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

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