A Spanish woman touring with her husband was reportedly sexually assaulted by a group of men, in Jharkhand's Dumka district on Friday night. The incident occurred in Kurumahat village, situated approximately 42km from Dumka district headquarters, at a deserted location under Hansdiha police station. The assailants targeted the woman, who was sleeping in a makeshift tent with her husband.
Officers arrived on the scene in the early hours of the morning and made some arrests. Following the assault, the woman was admitted to a health facility for medical treatment, while the authorities have opened an investigation into the matter.
Till now all seven accused had been identified and four amongst them have been arrested.
What do we know about the incident?
Around five years ago, the Spanish couple had initiated their ambitious global motorcycle journey. After traversing 63 countries and covering a distance of 1,70,000 km, their expedition faced a tragic interruption in the quiet outskirts of Dumka in Jharkhand, around 300 km from the state capital Ranchi.
The couple, traveling from Bangladesh on two motorcycles, had planned to continue through Bihar and eventually reach Nepal. However, the woman claimed that they were assaulted that night.
"Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone. Seven men have raped me," the woman shared on social media, accompanied by images displaying severe injuries to her face.
The 28-year-old travel vlogger pointed out bruise marks on her face in a post on social media. “My face looks like this, but it’s not what hurts me the most. I thought we were going to die. Thank God we are alive,” she said in the post.
The woman and her partner later took down the video from social media. In an Instagram story, the woman stated that the reason for taking down the video was the request made by the Jharkhand Police, owing to the 'disturbance' in ongoing investigation.
What has the administration said?
Ajay Kumar Singh, the director general of police in Jharkhand, stated that the district police have been instructed to utilise all available scientific investigative tools to ensure that severe punishment is given to the culprits according to the law.
Anjaneyulu Dodde, the deputy commissioner of Dumka, mentioned that it is standard procedure for any foreign national visiting the district to notify the administration, however, this was not followed in this case.
Dodde said, "The place where the foreign tourists had put up a tent on Friday night was a desolate remote place and none of the administration officials were even aware of their stay. We would be writing to the Union home ministry to inform the district or state administration about the visit of foreign nationals so that we can provide them security in future.”
The police official also added that the youths were under the influence of drugs and had looted cash of Rs 10,000 and a gold ring from the woman.
How did the social media users react?
Since the incident has come to light, social media has been inundated with a plethora of reactions, calling out the state of women safety in the country. The reactions were triggered more so after National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma slammed a US-based writer for "defaming India" on social media, in light of the incident.
David Josef Volodzko, the author, shared on X, that during his years of residing in India, he observed an unparalleled degree of sexual aggression unlike any other place. The writer detailed instances, such as when a woman, unknown to him, sought refuge on his berth during a train journey due to an incident where an Indian man licked her foot.
In response to the extensive post by the writer highlighting the lack of safety for solo women travelers in India, Sharma inquired whether any of the incidents mentioned in the post had been officially reported to the police. "If not then you are totally an irresponsible person. Writing only on social media and defaming whole country is not good choice," she said.
While one user believed that Sharma was dishonouring the position she holds, another pointed out that she was "misinterpreting a wholly justified criticism as defaming India".
Several used asked Sharma to resign, owing to her "misogynistic" post on X. Dissing the NCW chief's views, one user even shared statistics from NCRB in order to highlight the state of women safety in India.