Spanish woman looted, gang-raped in Jharkhand’s Dumka; three arrested
People familiar with the matter said the woman was gang-raped by over half a dozen youth and police have detained a few suspects on her complaint
A Spanish woman, who was on a tour with her husband, was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men on Friday night in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, police said.
Police said the incident took place in the Kurmahat village around 11pm on Friday. Besides the sexual assault on the woman, the couple was also thrashed and robbed by the accused persons.
Dumka superintendent of police (SP) Pitambar Singh Kherwar said three accused have been arrested in connection, and they have formed special teams to arrest other accused persons.
Police said that a patrolling team of Hansdiha police spotted the couple near the road but couldn’t comprehend their language. The duo narrated the incident using Google Translate. They were later taken to a Community Health Centre in Saraiyahat.
Officials said that upon getting information, senior police officers reached the hospital. SP Kherwar said their team came to know about the incident last night, and following medical examination and based on the statement given by the woman, they arrested three persons.
Officials aware of the investigation said that the couple, who were on a tourist visa in India, had camped near Kunji Basti, about two km from Kurmahat, after reaching there at around 5pm on Friday. The incident took place as some local youths went on to rob them and also gang-raped the women.
SP Kherwar said one of the arrested youth confessed to their crime and divulged information about other accused persons.
“The couple had not given any information to the police/administration regarding the putting up of a temporary camp in the village,” said Kherwar and added a probe team led by sub-divisional officer Santosh Kumar of Jarmundi has been constituted to investigate the case.
Meanwhile, a video of the couple went viral on social media narrating the crime, leading to political furore in the state.
Amit Mandal, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from neighbouring Godda on Saturday raised the issue in the state assembly, accusing the state police of trying to protect the accused persons. He also demanded the suspension of Dumka SP.
Godda MP Nishikant Dubey accused the Champai Soren-led government of posting untrained police officers in the Santhal Pargana division who are abetting murder, loot and rape.
State BJP state president Babulal Marandi also targeted the government and said that the law and order situation in the state is collapsing.