‘Gang rape, kicks, blows, husband tied:’ Spanish tourist on gruesome India assault

They took turns raping her for two to three hours while others beat her husband, who was left bound on the ground.

That is how the Spanish couple recounts a horrific assault they suffered in India, drawing attention to the increasing sexual violence against women in the country. The bike-touring couple was attacked while asleep in the tent they had pitched to spend the night on Friday at a desolate area of Kunji village, some 300 km or an eight-hour drive from Ranchi, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. Unaware of the impending danger in the semi-forested area, the couple woke up to a nightmare as a group of seven men surrounded them.

“They took turns raping me for two to three hours while others beat my husband, who was left bound on the ground,” the Spanish-Brazilian woman told EFE, vividly remembering the bloodcurdling encounter.

Her husband, tied and kept at a distance, endured blows and kicks from the attackers, fearing that his partner might already be dead. “I didn’t see her and thought they killed her,” he said. The visibly bruised woman said that hours later, she thought, “They were tired or didn’t want to take any more risks” when one of her rapists gave her clothes to wear before leaving the spot.