Reports said Monday that three Indian men have appeared in court after the gang rape of a Spanish tourist on a motorbike trip with her husband, with police still searching for four other suspects.
The assault occurred on Friday night in Jharkhand state’s Dumka district in eastern India, where the couple was camping. A total of seven men are accused of carrying out the brutal attack.
“We have formed a team to hunt the remaining suspects,” said senior local police officer Pitamber Singh Kherwar to AFP. On Sunday, three accused were seen being escorted into court with sacks on their heads by police officers. The three suspects were later remanded in custody.
The Spanish woman and her husband were also present in court. They recounted to Spanish TV channel Antena 3 that the men raped the woman and assaulted the man repeatedly. The couple had camped out because they couldn’t find nearby hotels.
“We have to ensure strict punishment,” Kherwar emphasized, as reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. He mentioned that a special team, including forensic officers, had been formed to investigate the crime scene, while another team was on the lookout for more suspects.
An average of nearly 90 rapes per day were reported in India in 2022, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau.
Convictions for such crimes remain rare, with cases often getting stuck in India’s congested criminal justice system for years.
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