American Woman Gang-Raped By 3 While Hitch-Hiking To Resort In Northern India
An American was gang-raped by men as she was hitch-hiking her way back to a guest house in northern India, Reuters reported.
Police told Reuters Television that they've arrested three men suspected of the attack.
The woman told police she was headed to a hill resort in the town of Manali, located in the state of Himal Pradesh, where she accepted a ride from a truck driver early Tuesday morning and was raped by three men in a secluded area, reported The Wall Street Journal. She was subsequently dumped on a highway and walked toward a bus stop where she was found screaming for help.
She was admitted into a local hospital to undergo preliminary tests and did not want to be identified.
The incident was the latest account of tourists being gang-raped in India. In March, a gang of men raped a Swiss tourist while she was camping in Madhya Pradesh and another woman believed to have encountered rapists, jumped out of an Uttar Pradesh hotel balcony to avoid the attack.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, nearly 25,000 rapes occurred in 2011 alone in India, which translates to one every 20 minutes.
Among the highest cases reported, were in New Delhi, India's capital, where a rape is reported every 18 hours, police figures say.
The rape of a young woman aboard a bus in New Delhi ignited a protest to provide more protection. The government responded with a law that increased prison sentences for rapists and penalty of death for rapists who kill their victims or leave them in a coma. Stalking, trafficking, voyeurism, and attacks with substances like acid are also considered a criminal offense under the new law.