Jharkhand Police have revealed additional details regarding the Brazilian-Spanish tourist gang-raped and assaulted in the Dumka district on March 1. According to the survivor's statement, she was dragged to a secluded area, threatened with a dagger, beaten, and then raped by seven to eight men. The accused also physically assaulted her husband and robbed their valuables before feeling. An FIR was registered in the wee hours of March 2 under IPC Sections 376D (gangrape) and 395 (dacoity). According to the police, all the accused have been arrested. Jharkhand High Court has also taken cognisance of the matter and ordered the State government to file a report.
The incident made headlines worldwide, while the Embassies of Spain and Brazil have reached out for urgent action. The incident has cast a grim shadow on India's safety reputation, amplifying existing concerns about the security of tourists, particularly women, within the country's borders.
Survivor Shares Her Story
The Brazilian-Spanish survivor spent the last several months travelling the world, from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to the quaint gullies of Bangladesh. She and her husband were biking across North India, en route to Nepal, when the traumatic experience took place in Dumka, Jharkhand, where they were camping in a makeshift tent. The 28-year-old tourist shared the ordeal on Instagram, detailing everything that happened on the night of March 1.
"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 recounted in Spanish. She continued, "There were seven people who attacked us, beat us, put a knife to our necks and said they were going to kill us."
Dumka Superintendent of Police Pitamber Singh Kherwar told the media that the couple stopped a police van patrolling the area and narrated their ordeal. He said, "Initially, the patrolling party did not understand much of the incident because the woman was speaking partly in English and partly in Spanish. They were taken to a nearby health centre. The doctors then informed the police that the woman had been raped. I received a call around 1.30 am and rushed to the spot for verification." An FIR was filed at around 2 am.
Survivor's Statement
In her statement to the police, the tourist survivor said, "Around 7 p.m., while we were inside our tent, we heard some suspicious voices. As soon as we came out of the tent, we saw two people talking on the phone. Around 7:30 p.m., a few people came on two motorcycles. They stopped at the tent and murmured ‘Hello friends’. We came out and saw five people rushing towards (us) and two more people moving towards our tent. They were talking in the local language and were also using a few English words in between. All of them were slightly drunk"
The survivor further detailed that at first, three men started quarrelling with the victim's husband before assaulting him and tying his hands. The other four forcefully picked her up “after showing me a dagger”. She added that she was dragged to a secluded place, thrown on the ground, kicked, punched and raped repeatedly by all seven men. The ordeal lasted over two and a half hours, she reported.
The survivor said that the accused also snatched around ₹11,000, $300 (in US currency), some valuable jewellery, and more belongings before fleeing. On March 4, the Deputy Commissioner of Jharkhand Police handed over ₹10 lakh compensation to the couple. The Jharkhand Police have arrested all the accused on March 5.
India's Reputation Tainted?
While the Indian government pushes for a boost in the nation's diverse tourism landscape, the compromise on safety has garnered critical attention from the world, especially since such instances are coming to light more often in the age of social media. Several cases of tourists, especially women, facing violence in India have been brought to light recently, becoming a wake-up call for authorities to comprehensively address systemic issues surrounding safety and security.
The world has taken to social media to share their reactions to the recent Jharkhand gang rape case.
Meanwhile, the survivor took to Instagram recently to share her overall experience in India. "People of India are nice. I don't blame the people, but I blame the criminals. The people of India have treated me very well and were very kind to me. I have good memories from India," she said, adding that she faced no issues in the last six months covering 20,000 km across India.
"The point is that a rape or a robbery can happen to you, to your brother, to your mother, to your daughter, to anyone. No one is free from that, in any country in the world. It has happened in Spain, many times. It has happened all over the world… There are violations in all countries in Spain, Brazil, America… So don’t talk nonsense that it’s because we are in India,” she added.
Legal Action So Far
The Jharkhand High Court took suo moto cognisance of the case and emphasized the potential national and international repercussions such crimes could have, particularly on India's image. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Navneet Kumar noted, "A sex-related crime against a foreign woman is likely to bring adverse publicity against the country and thereby tarnish the image of India across the globe.”
The Court directed the Director General Of Police, Government Of Jharkhand, to file a response by March 7. The bench noted that an FIR has been lodged against seven accused persons in connection with the gang rape, with four arrests already made. Additionally, the Court noted that the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) has already taken steps to provide legal and other help to the victim of the crime.
Anil Kumar Mishra, Dumka’s Principal District Judge (PDJ) and Chairman of the District Legal Services Authority personally met the survivor and made a report to the JHALSA. According to a JHALSA official, Mishra reported, "(We) assured them that the wrongdoers will be apprehended as soon as possible and prosecuted. The victim was emotionally shattered but was in stable physical condition, and a medical examination was in process.”
Government Bodies Alerted
The Embassies of Brazil and Spain in New Delhi quickly swung into action to aid the 28-year-old woman, a dual citizen of the two nations, and her 64-year-old Spanish husband. The Embassy of Brazil in New Delhi stated that it is in touch with the woman and concerned authorities to continually “monitor all developments." The Embassy of Spain asserted the need for strict action against violence towards women across the world.
Moreover, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has written to the Jharkhand police chief to expedite the investigation and arrest the remaining accused persons. “A letter has been sent to DGP from NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma to expedite the investigation into this matter and invoke charges of rape under Section 376D of IPC,” NCW posted on X. The NCW added that its chairperson Rekha Sharma has spoken to the survivor and extended all required assistance.
Meanwhile, Sharma took to X (Twitter) on March 3, responding to a US-based journalist who, in a post, said he witnessed the highest level of “sexual aggression” in India. The NCW chief asked the journalist whether he reported such incidents to the police. “If not, then you are totally an irresponsible person,” she said. “Writing only on social media and defaming the whole country is not a good choice.” Sharma has been heavily criticised for this tweet.
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