The Indian police claimed this Sunday to have identified all those involved in the attack and group rape of a Spanish tourist traveling with her husband in northeastern India, while only three suspects They have been arrested.
“Since we have identified the names of all (…) During the interrogation, the accused confessed their participation in the matter (…) the remaining ones will be arrested soon,” local police superintendent Pitambar Singh Kherwar said in a press conference. .
The event, which has received a lot of media attention, in part because it involved foreigners, has been considered a “very serious case” so the police have formed two special investigation teams (SIT) for the procedure.
“One of the teams will examine the evidence collection. And the second team has been formed to capture the remaining accused; they (SIT team) are constantly investigating and raiding the places,” Kherwar said.
A group of men attacked the couple and raped the woman
The couple, who have been traveling for several months to visit Asian countries, had set up a tent near a police station in the Dumka district, Jharkhand state, to spend the night last Friday when around midnight a group of men attacked them, several official sources told EFE.
The victims managed to communicate with a police patrol around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday (approximately 9:30 p.m. GMT on Friday) and were taken to a local hospital.
In a video statement, the husband said from the hospital that his wife “has been raped by seven” people, while an attacker threatened him with a knife. Both were also robbed and severely beaten.
The couple went to court this Sunday to give a statement before the judge, a police source close to the case informed EFE.
Both have been staying since last night at an official local government residence in Dumka for their safety.
“The couple is here under protection,” Dumka Deputy Commissioner A Dodde said in a media statement.
The police have asked the victims to avoid public statements so as not to affect the investigation.
Penalties for rape in India
The law establishes harsh penalties for rape, most of which are non-bailable. A rape under the Indian Penal Code is punishable by not less than 10 years in prison, and a gang rape by up to life imprisonment.
A judicial source consulted by EFE explained that for the process to be carried out to the letter, the statement must be made separately by the police and the forensic evidence must be collected within the following 24 hours.
The step that the Spanish couple takes at this moment is the statement before the magistrate, the testimony that serves as evidence for the trial.
The couple is moved to a safe house
The Spanish couple has been transferred to a government ‘safe house’, while investigations are carried out and the search for those involved, who are estimated to be between eight and ten people, continues.
The couple, who spent the first night in the hospital and receiving medical treatment, has been housed in a regional government home whose location has not been revealed for their safety, as sources from the medical center where they were have informed EFE, who requested the anonymity.
The residence is a ‘circuit house’, a guest house for the stay of Indian government officials when they are on official trips.
BY: Rehan Akram
