A Spanish tourist, who was allegedly gang-raped while on a bike tour with her husband in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, has said she doesn’t regret anything about her visit to India. The alleged assault took place on March 2 when the 28-year-old was spending the night with her partner in a makeshift tent. The couple, now back in Spain, spoke to South China Morning Post (SCMP) about the bike trip that took them through 67 countries, and their experience in India.

“I think everyone in the world expects me to say ‘Don’t go to India’, but life is far more complicated than that. What happened to me in India could have happened anywhere else. Not so long ago, a couple travelling in Belize, in Central America, the same thing happened to them,” the woman told SCMP.

“My advice to women is to get out of the house, travel and do so without fear. If you are going to camp, it should be in a place not too far from the road where you can easily call for help and have a signal for your phone,” she added.

Her partner said they don’t know if they will be called to testify in court. “If we have to, we will, but perhaps it can be done using a video call.”

When asked about taking responsibility for being a risk taker, the woman said, “I understand how some people might reach that conclusion. You know, society convinces us to live one way, to go to work, to have two children, to stay in our circle. So when a person exits their circle, they are considered risk-takers.”

“Yes, I left the house, and yes, I took risks, but I don’t regret it. I don’t regret going to India. I don’t regret anything about our journey,” she added.

“Maybe if we had just gone another way or stayed in a hotel, this never would have happened. But using the same logic, maybe something worse would have happened and I wouldn’t be alive. Accidents can happen anywhere, even inside the safety of your house,” said the 28-year-old.

She, however, added that they intend to continue their bike trips. “We’re just taking a break in Spain. We don’t know when but we are sure we will continue. We’ve already started planning.”

In India, the Ministry of External Affairs had said days after the incident that the matter is “under investigation” and several people arrested.

New Delhi:

Days after a woman from Spain was allegedly gang raped in Jharkhand, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said the matter is “under investigation” and several people have been arrested.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in response to a query on the case at his weekly media briefing here.

The tourist from Spain was allegedly gang raped in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, police had said on March 2.

“As you know, the matter is under investigation. Several people have been arrested,” Jaiswal told reporters.

In his response, the spokesperson also said, “And, you would have also see that the High Court of Jharkhand, suo motu has taken action on this particular matter.” Some reports refer to the act of cognisance by the court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ranchi:

The Jharkhand High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a foreign tourist’s gang-rape in Dumka district and asked the DGP, chief secretary and the Superintendent of Police to file a report on the matter.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice S Chandrashekhar and Justice Navneet Kumar issued notices to the DGP, chief secretary and the Superintendent of Police in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Dumka administration on Monday handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to the gang-rape survivor’s husband as compensation, an official said.

He received the cheque in the presence of Deputy Commissioner A Dodde and Superintendent of Police Pitamber Singh Kherwar.

The foreign tourist was allegedly gang-raped at Kurumahat in Hansdiha police station area, around 300 km from state capital Ranchi, on Friday when she was spending the night in a tent along with her husband, police said.

The woman (28) and her 64-year-old husband had reached Dumka from Bangladesh on two motorcycles and were en route to Nepal via Bihar.

“An assistance of Rs 10 lakh was provided to the survivor under the victim compensation scheme. Prompt action has been taken in the case. We will try for early conviction of the accused,” he said.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the tourist couple will leave Dumka on Tuesday under police protection.

“We are ready to extend any help they want,” he said.

The survivor’s husband thanked Jharkhand Police for speedy action. Three people have been arrested so far and a manhunt has been launched for the remaining four accused.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A US-based journalist’s post on “sexual aggression” in India in the wake of the Jharkhand gangrape allegations has drawn a sharp response from National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma.

Ms Sharma questioned if the post’s author, David Josef Volodzko, had reported to police any of the incidents he had mentioned in his post. “Writing only on social media and defaming whole country is not good choice,” she added.

Did you ever report the incident to Police? If not than you are totally an irresponsible person. Writing only on social media and defaming whole country is not good choice. https://t.co/PiDyspKsiU

— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) March 3, 2024

David Josef Volodzko’s blue tick profile on X describes him as the author of a newsletter on political extremism, The Radicalist. It also says he has earlier written for prominent publications such as New York Magazine, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.

Responding to the Jharkhand incident, in which a Spanish woman has alleged that she was gangraped in Dumka, Volodzko wrote, “The level of sexual aggression I witnessed while living in India for several years was unlike anywhere else I have ever been.”

He then claimed that a British woman once requested him to let her sleep in his bunk during a train ride in India “because a man walking by in the hall had licked her foot and she felt unsafe”. He also alleged that a young man he had introduced to a woman friend groped her instead of shaking her hand. “I never met a female traveler who had not been groped or assaulted or worse, even if they had only been in country for mere days,” he alleged. “I love India. It is and always will be one of my favorite places in the world. But I have advised female friends who asked me not to travel there alone. This is a real problem in Indian society that warrants more attention and that I hope will improve in time,” Volodzko added.

The post on X sparked strong, and varied, responses. While some expressed shock, others said their experience during their India trips has been completely different.

The Jharkhand government has, meanwhile, formed a special investigation team to probe the Spanish tourist’s allegations. Three persons have been arrested and a search has been launched to catch the other accused.

The woman has alleged that the incident took place on Friday night, when she and her partner were spending the night in a tent at Kurumahat, about 300 km from state capital Ranchi.

Police have said a patrol team found the couple on the roadside. “The patrol team sensed that something had happened to them. Since they were speaking in Spanish, the police could not understand what they were saying. The policemen brought them to a local hospital assuming they needed some treatment,” senior officer Pitambar Singh Kherwar said, according to news agency PTI.

The Spanish woman told the doctors that she was sexually assaulted, police said. “We were informed about the incident around 1.30 am on Saturday. The investigation started as soon as we received the information. We spoke to the victim. We detained some people and they admitted to their involvement. The accused took some other names. We have formed a team and raids are being conducted to catch the other accused. We are also taking the help of a forensic team and CID,” the officer said.

District Civil Surgeon Baccha Prasad Singh has told PTI that the woman, aged around 28, and her 64-year-old husband were being treated at a state-run hospital in Dumka and both are out of danger.