Madya Pradesh, March 16 – A Swiss female tourist on a cycling trip with her husband was gangraped by seven to eight people at a forest area in Datia district of Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.
Twenty people have been detained on the basis of suspicion and are being questioned in connection with the incident, DIG(Chambal range) D K Arya said.
A rape case has been registered, police said, adding that seven to eight unidentified persons were involved in the crime. No arrest has been made so far.
The incident took place at Jharia village, eight km near Datia town, at around 9pm on Friday night when the 39-year-old woman along with her husband was touring the region on a bicycle as part of their India tour.
The couple, who are adventure tourists, was camping at a forest area for the night while on their way back from Orchha, home to temples of Lord Ram, and were proceeding to North Indian city Agra when they were attacked.
The woman was allegedly gangraped in the presence of her husband, police said.
The victim was rushed to Gwalior, about 100 km from here, and her medical tests in a hospital have confirmed rape, police sources said.
“They(the couple) were coming from Orchha on a bicycle and they decided to stay in a forest. A lot of tourists throng the area. They were beaten up by a few people who took away their laptops,” said M L Dhody, a Sub-Divisional police officer.
“We are scouring the forest area in search of those involved in the crime,” Datia SP C.S. Solanki said.
The Chairperson of National Commission for Women Mamta Sharma said the MP government should take the incident very seriously and demanded strictest punishment to the culprits.
Leader of Opposition in MP Assembly Ajay Singh said the incident was a “blot” on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s name and also put the state in poor light abroad.
