Police in India have arrested three men over the alleged gang-rape of a Brazilian travel blogger who was touring the country on a motorcycle with her husband.
The woman, in her thirties, and her Spanish husband, in his sixties, were riding from India to Nepal when they were allegedly attacked by seven men after they had set up an overnight camp in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
Police are still hunting for four other men, local media reported, as the world’s eyes once again turn to the issue of sexual violence against women in India.
The woman – whose identity was not revealed by police – is a travel blogger with more than 200,000 followers on Instagram.
Posting to the social media platform after the attack, the woman said a group of at least seven men invaded the couple’s tent and sexually assaulted her.
The gang beat the couple and stole 10,000 rupees ($185) in cash and a ring, she said.
“Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone. Seven men have raped me,” the woman said, where she appeared crying and had bruises on her face.
“They have beaten us and robbed us, although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me,” she said.
Her husband said in a separate post the men had hit them with a helmet and a stone.
“My mouth is destroyed but my partner is worse than me,” he said.
Police took the couple to a local hospital on Friday night.
The woman and her husband have documented their travels on Instagram and had recently completed a motorcycle journey of Sri Lanka.
Rape and sexual violence in India is a major problem.
More than 31,500 sexual assault cases were reported in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, equating to an average 86 rapes daily.
At least 22 cases related to the rape of foreign citizens.
Women in the 18-30 age group are most vulnerable to rape, national data showed.
