The shocking case of the Spanish tourist gang-raped in Jharkhand

On Friday, the country woke up to the horrific news of a Spanish woman biker being gang-raped and then robbed in Jharkhand’s Dumka, located around 300 kilometre from state capital Ranchi. The gruesome incident has spurred authorities into action, with three persons already being arrested in the matter.

However, it has also spurred a debate online with the chairperson of the National Commission of Women (NCW) wading into it.

What happened? What are the authorities saying? And what did the NCW chairperson say? Here’s what we know so far.

The woman’s journey to India

On Friday, the Spanish woman — originally hailing from Brazil, who is travelling around the world on her bike along with her husband — alleged that she was assaulted and gang-raped by seven men while they were camping near Kurumahat’s Hansdiha market in Dumka.

The 28-year-old and her husband have been travelling the world on their bikes, with their Instagram accounts reflecting their many journeys. The couple has already travelled over 1.53 lakh kilometres across the world, covering 63 countries.

In fact, they crossed over into India from Pakistan last July and had even posted then: “Hello India! After almost five years of travelling the world and more than 150,000km, the time has come to meet. We have heard a lot about you. For the moment, we could see that you are difficult, we will have to adapt quite a lot. But you also have your good side, and I know that you are going to blow us away with it.”

And as per the woman’s Instagram posts, until their Jharkhand leg of the trip, they had visited the Spiti Valley, the Karni Mata Temple in Bikaner, Jaipur and even parts of south India.

The alleged gang rape

On Friday night, social media was abuzz when the 28-year-old travel vlogger took to her Instagram and posted how she fell victim to an alleged gang rape by seven men. “We are in the hospital, and something happened to us that we wouldn’t wish on anyone. Seven men raped me, and they have beaten us and robbed us, although not many things (were taken) because what they wanted was to rape me. We are in the hospital with the police, it happened tonight in India,” she said in Spanish.

Her husband also said, “My oral cavity is severely damaged, yet my partner has fared worse than me. They assaulted me repeatedly with a helmet and struck me on the head with a stone. Thankfully, her protective jacket offered some resistance against the blows.”

The woman also added in her post, “My face looks like this, but it’s not what hurts me the most. I thought we were going to die. Thank God we are alive.”

Dumka Superintendent of Police (SP) Pitambar Singh Kherwar, according to a PTI news report, said that Hansdiha police patrolling team found two people on the side of the road around 11 pm on Friday.

“The patrolling team sensed that something had happened to them. Since they were speaking in Spanish, the police could not understand what they were saying. However, the policemen brought them to a local hospital assuming they needed some treatment,” he said.

He later added that they were informed about the alleged crime around 1.30 am on Saturday and they immediately began investigations.

Three arrested, hunt on for others

Acting on the information, the authorities arrested three men and they have been sent to judicial custody by a court. Furthermore, the identity of four others has also been confirmed and the hunt is on for them.

SP Kherwar said: “The other four accused have been identified, and searches are underway. They will be nabbed soon.”

He further added that the 28-year-old woman’s statement had been recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC. Additionally, they were in contact with the Embassy of Spain in New Delhi and being kept abreast of the developments.

As per a report in The Print, the three accused in custody during questioning admitted that they attacked the couple with an “intent to rape” the woman and had also confessed to the gang rape. “They (the suspects) took away a watch, Rs 10,000 cash, and a ring,” a source told The Print. “One of the arrested suspects has said that he is 16 years old. We are verifying their claims. The medical reports are awaited and documents are being verified.”

Meanwhile, the Spanish foreign ministry said on Sunday it was sending staff to the area and had been in touch with authorities, while its Brazilian counterpart said it had sought contact with the Brazilian citizen through its embassy in New Delhi and was available to give every assist applicable.

Outrage and anger

The incident caused uproar in the Jharkhand Assembly on Saturday with Jharkhand BJP president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi demanding stern action against the police. “When such incidents take place with foreigners, who would like to come to Jharkhand? The law and order machinery has collapsed here. Strict action should be taken against the police,” he said.

The National Commission for Women member Mamta Kumari also expressed anger over the issue, saying: “All the accused involved in the crime should be arrested at the earliest and stringent action should be ensured.”

Celebrities also took to social media to condemn the incident and called out the lack of safety for women. For instance, Dulquer Salmaan said, “Crushed to hear about this! You both recently visited Kottayam where close friends hosted you for a meal. This should not happen to anyone anywhere.”

Others too took to social media commenting that parts of India were unsafe to travel through for women. One of them was US writer David Josef Volodzko. In a post on X, he said that the “level of sexual aggression” that he witnessed while living in India for several years was unlike anywhere.

However, it seems that his message sparked even stronger reactions, particularly from NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma.

Her response has been severely criticised, and many others have left comments under the couple’s Instagram and YouTube videos, expressing solidarity and sympathy with them.

With inputs from agencies