The gangrape of a Swiss woman, 40, in front of her husband while the couple was camping in a forested area barely a few kilometres from Datia district headquarters on Friday evening has put the Madhya Pradesh government in a tight spot and the police is on the hunt for the rapists, supposed to be seven in number.
According to a police headquarters spokesperson here, the Civil Lines Police station at Datia had lodged the FIR about the gangrape on the victim’s complaint on Friday evening itself and 20 persons have been detained for interrogation. The police has zoomed in on five villages close to the spot where the crime was committed. The victim was rushed to Gwalior where medical tests in a hospital confirmed rape, police sources said.
The Swiss couple were carrying portable camping gear and cycling from Orchcha to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. They were travelling as cycling tourists and on Friday evening had pitched their tent for the night near Jhadia village, outside Datia, when seven persons descended on the tent, looted their valuables and gangraped the woman. The victims were completely cut off from the rest of the world as they had even switched off their mobile phones for the past several days. The couple were in Datia on Saturday and in constant touch with the Swiss embassy. According to available information, the police was under pressure to arrest the culprits without wasting time as the victim would not be in a position to stay in Datia for long. The Swiss embassy expressed its distress over the alleged gangrape. It said that ambassador Linus von Castelmur has been able to speak to the victim and her partner and assured them of all possible support. It also said that the couple’s health and treatment is the priority of the moment.