A Swiss woman who was on a cycling trip in central India with her husband has been abused by eight men, police said Saturday. The attack comes three months after the fatal gang-rap* of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus outraged Indians.
Authorities detained and questioned 13 men in connection with the latest attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest in Madhya Pradesh state after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officer R.K. Gurjar said.
The men beat the couple and gang-rap*d the woman, he said. They also stole the couple's mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185).
The woman, 39, was treated at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior, Gurjar said, adding that she and her husband apparently suffered no major injuries.
A photo showed the woman walking while being escorted by police to the hospital. Her face was concealed with a hood, a common practice in India, where law does not allow abused victims to be identified publicly to protect them from the stigma attached to rap* in the conservative country.
Police detained 13 men and questioned them, Gurjar said. Six of the men were released after questioning. No other details were immediately available.
Indian television stations showed scores of police searching the forest where the attack occurred.
Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Tilman Renz described the case as "deeply disturbing" and said Swiss diplomats were assisting the couple.
The diplomats called on Indian authorities "to do everything to quickly find the perpetrators so that they can be held accountable," Renz said in a statement.
Last month, the Swiss government issued a travel notice for India that included a warning about "increasing numbers of rap*s and other sexual offenses" in the South Asian nation.
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