Female tourist raped in India

A 23-year-old female tourist was allegedly raped while her male friend was beaten up and tied to a tree in West Bengal state of India, said local police.

The incident took place in Digha town of Purba Medinipur district on Saturday night when the victim on a vacation with her male friend, was looking for a hotel in Medinipur district.

The police said that two suspects approached them and offered to arrange a hotel at an affordable price.

The accused took them to a forest under the pretext of taking them to a hotel. The male friend was beaten up before being tied to a tree. “The woman was taken to another forest and allegedly sexually assaulted,” the police added.

The suspects have also robbed cash and other valuables from the victim woman and her friend before managing to escape.

A case was lodged under sections 376 (punishment for rape), 379 (punishment for theft) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Additional SP (Rural), Purba Medinipur, Shubendra Kumar said that hours after receiving the complaint, the police conducted raids and arrested two persons in connection with the alleged rape. The police officer said that during the initial interrogation, it appeared that that two people were involved in the incident.

The suspects were remanded in police custody for 14 days by the local court on Monday.