This Article is From Jun 04, 2013

American tourist gang-raped in Manali, three suspects missing

American tourist gang-raped in Manali, three suspects missing
Manali: An American tourist in Manali was gang-raped early this morning, allegedly by a truck driver and two other men.

The three suspects are missing.

"The 30-year-old was raped by men in a truck on Monday night. They offered her a lift and she accepted it," police inspector Abhimanyu Kumar told news agency AFP. He said the American was unable to remember the number plate of the truck and that every truck driver in Manali had been ordered to report at the local police station as part of the investigation.

The assault took place in Manali, a popular tourist destination 500 kilometres from New Delhi.

The woman was on a holiday with three other Americans and was returning to her guest house alone after bathing at a hot water spring.

The natural water spring, called "Vashist", is a tourist spot renowned for its temples and bathing tanks.

"The victim's friends wanted to spend more time at the spring but she was tired and decided to walk alone to the guest house," said another senior police officer VK Dhawan.

Yesterday, the Kolkata Police arrested a local businessman suspected of drugging and raping a 21-year-old Irish charity worker after her birthday party.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a major trade body, said earlier this year that the number of foreign women tourists visiting India had dropped by 35 per cent following several sex attacks that have made global headlines.

December's fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi made international headlines and provoked large and angry street protests in India.

A Swiss cyclist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh in March, while a British tourist jumped out of a hotel window in Agra in March after the hotel owner allegedly tried to forcibly enter her room.
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