American tourist gang-raped in northern India

An American tourist was gang-raped by a group of men in a hill resort in northern India, police said today, in what is the latest in a series of attacks that have thrown the spotlight on women's safety.

The woman was picked up by three men in a truck late yesterday while hitch-hiking back to her guest house in the town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh state, police said.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the alleged attack, Himachal Pradesh police chief B Kamal Kumar said in the state capital Shimla.

The woman told police her attackers took her to an isolated area and raped her. The woman was taken to a local hospital for preliminary tests before being taken back to her guest house, said a local police inspector, who declined to be identified.

"We are in contact with authorities but due to issues of privacy we have no further comment," Peter Vrooman, spokesman for the US embassy in New Delhi, said in an email.

It is the latest incident in which a foreign tourist has been attacked.

Police in India’s eastern city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) arrested a local businessman (35) over the weekend on charges of allegedly drugging and raping a 21-year-old Irish charity worker after a night out celebrating her birthday.

The woman, an engineering student who came to India to work as a volunteer with a local charity, filed a complaint of rape with the police on Saturday.

In March, a Swiss tourist was gang-raped while on a camping trip in a forest in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. In the same month, a British woman jumped out of her hotel balcony in Uttar Pradesh state to escape a possible sexual assault.

Sex crimes are common in India. The National Crime Records Bureau says more than 24,200 rapes were reported in India in 2011 - one every 20 minutes.

The capital, New Delhi, has the highest number of sex crimes among major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures.

“Women should observe stringent security precautions, including avoiding use of public transport after dark without the company of known and trustworthy companions,” according to a US State Department travel advisory for India.

The gang rape of a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist on a bus on December 16th in New Delhi, brought thousands of people onto the streets in protest and clashes with police for days to demand better law enforcement to fight gender crimes.

Reuters