[Far-Right Sage]

Swiss tourist brutally gang-raped in front of husband in central India

A Swiss tourist’s Indian vacation took a horrific turn Friday night after she was brutally gang-raped by a group of eight people in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Six men have been arrested, according to a local police official.

All six men have confessed to committing the crime, the official told AP. Local police previously detained and questioned around 20 people.

The gruesome incident occurred around 9:00pm local time on Friday, in a desolate jungle area of the Datia district. The victim’s husband told police that four people raped the woman in front of him, while the rest of the men restrained the couple.

According to police official S.M. Afzal Datia, the suspects allegedly attacked the 39-year-old woman with canes and other weapons. They assaulted the victim’s husband and stole the couple’s cash, laptop, camera, flashlights, and mobile phones.

The woman was rushed to Gwalior district hospital, where doctors confirmed the rape and assault. She has since been discharged.

Police Director-General Nandan Kumar Dubey said the suspects have been identified. The matter has also been reported to the minister of external affairs and the embassy, he said.

But National Commission for Women (NCW) chair Mamata Sharma said the local government should be doing far more in the wake of the crime. "The government has remained stoic and are not taking appropriate steps in the right direction," she said in a statement.

The Swiss woman and her husband were touring the area by bicycle and camping overnight in the forest. They had been vacationing in India for the past three months.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has contacted local authorities and called for a "swift" investigation into the incident, saying the health and treatment of the victim was its top priority.

"The Embassy is most distressed with the gang-rape of a Swiss national in Madhya Pradesh. The Ambassador has been able to speak to the victim and her partner and has assured them of all possible support," Swiss Ambassador Linus von Castelmur said in a Saturday statement.

This was the second recent case of a foreign tourist being raped in Madhya Pradesh. In February, a 23-year-old South Korean student reported that she was drugged and raped by the son of a local hotel owner.

The attack comes just three months after a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and beaten in a moving bus and thrown onto the street. She later died in a Singapore hospital. The case sparked outrage throughout the country, and cast a spotlight on the safety of women in India.

Earlier this month, 500 people gathered to protest the January rape of a 7-year-old girl in the Indian state of Goa. Several policemen and locals were injured, as officers used batons against stone-throwing demonstrators.

The crimes have prompted lawmakers to push through measures aimed at providing protection for women throughout the country.

On Saturday, India’s United Progressive Alliance government announced that such a law would be passed soon: "To stop crime against women, a law will soon be passed," UPA chair Sonia Gandhi said in a statement.

Gandhi's statement came two days after the Union Cabinet cleared a bill mandating stringent punishment for rape and other crimes. The bill sets a minimum jail term of 20 years for rape.

Government statistics indicate that a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, although the country’s conviction rate for rape crimes is one of the lowest in the world.

http://rt.com/news/india-rape-swiss-tourist-364/

First off, I would state that had this event been perpetrated against my significant other at any point in my life, I cannot imagine the level of fury which would quickly turn the blood coursing through my veins into some form of acidic compound.

Secondly, this is is not intended to prompt a bashing of all social problems in India, as I do believe these cases are being sought out and magnified, perhaps unfairly, since the infamous rape case in Delhi a short while ago became so sensationalized.

All that stated clearly, this provides unneeded embarrassment on the world stage and I would be curious to know if there are any proposed legal alterations in India being discussed to further underscore harsh penalties for the crime of rape in any form, whether the victim is an Indian citizen or a foreign national?

Incidentally, one of the ringleaders in that rape case in Delhi committed suicide in prison a short while back, probably as a result of fear and psychological pain inflicted upon him when he was in holding. One less degenerate, I suppose, but in truth I would prefer the men in that case and this among others to remain alive for a bit longer so as the masses can not quickly be appeased with a little squirt of blood, but these cases can actually be used for a form of evidence-gathering and creating a platform of sorts for enacting tougher rape laws.

In the other case, the victim died and so the men could be charged with murder. In this case, the victim survived, but with that degradation on her head it may be better to choose death.

Should India enact capital punishment for rape and begin applying this with as much zeal as it did in hanging the Muslim fundamentalist conspirator in the Mumbai attacks of '08? Perhaps this is an issue many Indians can rally around. It certainly isn't an India-specific problem, but the Indian justice system could become a form of model concerning laws on rape if it embraced a heavy-handed approach.

[Rei Murasame]

Yes, I think it's way past time for capital punishment, it's needs enacting like yesterday. CCTV needs to be everywhere, and the punishment needs to be swift death.

[Decky]

I don't understand why people go beyond the channel on holidays.

I'm going to have to break with the death idea. Gulags are the way forwards. Lock them up and throw away the key, these people are not fit to mix in with decent society.

[Travesty]

I wonder, what did India do to the global establishment to warrant such massive protests all of a sudden? Did rape become an issue in 2012 as opposed to 2011?

[Andropov]

I agree. I don't think rape in and of itself warrants the death penalty on moral grounds, but the world would be better off without the kinds of people that are likely to rape others.

[Political Interest]

I hope the guilty will be sentenced to death.

[Far-Right Sage]

I wonder, what did India do to the global establishment to warrant such massive protests all of a sudden? Did rape become an issue in 2012 as opposed to 2011?

That is a fair point, Travesty, and I cannot entirely decide if it is a question, as I made reference to in my opening statements, of modern-day social media sensationalism which in turn prompts major reporting of these stories in British/German/American/Russian news sources, or if India is actually being targeted by certain forces for more sinister and revealing reasons. Regardless however, it is still a legitimate problem which primarily affects Indians at the end of the day rather than the occasional tourist, and as such, it must be addressed by Indians.

[Travesty]

Well I really don't believe in convenient events like this. A women gets raped awful. And it sparks mass protests in multiple cities across India, massive numbers of people needed to be organized, mobilized, co-ordinated and supplied with candles and whatnot on an extremely short notice, and I'm fully aware how these tactics work as I've seen it in Russia on both sides where buses of protesters would be rolled in for a couple of Rubles (Ruppees in this case I guess) per protester with ready made signs etc. And the global media jumped on this all too quickly even calling it the Indian Spring. Perhaps I'm just too cynical.

[killim]

Wait until you read the official comments on this:

The state government's Minister of Interior today suggested tourists were putting themselves at greater risk by failing to inform the police of their travel plans.

The attack on the Swiss woman and her husband was "unfortunate" according to Uma Shankar Gupta, "but tourists should closely follow the rules for foreign travelers".

"What happened is unfortunate for our nation. When foreign tourists come, they should inform the SP (Superintendent of Police) about their plans.

"This is the system but it is not being followed."

[Stormsmith]

Courts must have the will to understand rape for what it really is. What happened to that Swiss couple is the same as what is happeing all over Africa.

This would be mind shattering for anyone. For the lady for obvious reasons, for the man, being rendered impotent, publically emasculated, unable to protect his wife. I'd be surprised if their marriage survives another year. this is why rape is considered an act, a weapon of war.

Castrate the whole lot of them, then imprision them for ever. Maybe these a******* will figure out what rape really is like.

[Godstud]

Gulags are far better than death. Why let them die quickly and easily after committing horrifying and terrible crimes? Canada will surely donate Baffin Island for the new location of a state of the art gulag. Sure, it's cold and there are hungry polar bears...

[Andropov]

Courts must have the will to understand rape for what it really is. What happened to that Swiss couple is the same as what is happeing all over Africa.

This would be mind shattering for anyone. For the lady for obvious reasons, for the man, being rendered impotent, publically emasculated, unable to protect his wife. I'd be surprised if their marriage survives another year. this is why rape is considered an act, a weapon of war.

Castrate the whole lot of them, then imprision them for ever. Maybe these a******* will figure out what rape really is like.

Yeah, I would hate to be the woman in this scenario but I think being the man would be even worse in a psychological sense.

[Far-Right Sage]

It appears as if this new deplorable attack may have been useful in the long-run if it has added to the momentum. This seems to be a start:

India to debate death penalty for rape

A bill containing harsher punishments for rapists is to be introduced to India's parliament. If adopted, it will provide for the death penalty - imposed very rarely in India - if a rape leads to a victim's death or a ‘persistent vegetative state’. The minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by a police officer or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years and may be extended to life without parole. Currently, rapists can spend from seven to ten years in jail. The new law will also toughen punishments for voyeurism, stalking and acid attacks. The demands for tougher laws came in the wake of last year's gang rape of a 23-year-old woman who later died in the hospital, a case that sparked nationwide outrage.

http://rt.com/news/line/2013-03-19/

[mikema63]

What is it with the acid attacks now anyway?

[Far-Right Sage]

I was under the impression that was a bigger problem among the Pakistanis and Muslim fundamentalists in general, but it is unclear how many of these attacks are committed by Hindus, Muslims in Punjab and elsewhere, etc. Whatever their religious background, shame on them of course.

Apparently this new law being debated in New Delhi is overdue to address a serious problem.

British tourist jumps out of window to avoid rape in India

A British tourist is in hospital in India after jumping out of a first-floor window to escape being raped. The 25-year-old woman was reportedly staying in a hotel in the city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. She reportedly fled through the window when someone broke into her room and attempted to rape her. The tourist received head injuries and fractures to both legs after the jump. Police have arrested the alleged rapist, who is believed to be the owner of the hotel where the woman was staying. The news comes just days after a Swiss tourist was gang-raped in India while her husband was tied up and forced to watch.

http://rt.com/news/line/2013-03-19/#46318

[Andropov]

When you're as poor and uneducated as most Indians, your choice of recreational activities is pretty limited.

Interesting how China does not suffer from the same problem.

[Far-Right Sage]

Good news, apparently:

Bill on anti-rape laws passed in India parliament

India’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill proposing harsher punishment for rapists, including death penalty, and increasing punishment for offences like voyeurism, stalking and acid attacks, local media reports. The bill also proposes keeping the age of consent for sex at 18 years, while some political parties wanted to bring it down to 16. The minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor or by a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years or extended to life without parole. The introduction of stringent punishment for crimes against women comes in the wake of a fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi last year. The woman’s death led to widespread protests across the country as well as a debate about the attitude to women in India.

http://rt.com/news/line/2013-03-19/

This has been moving extremely quickly.

[Rei Murasame]

That is surprisingly fast, it has only taken them 48 hours to get a bill sent through on this. This may mean that the criminals in this latest case will be the first people to get killed under the new law.

[Decky]

Oh well it's a waste of Gulag labour but I suppose there are far worse ways to be inefficient.

[Andropov]

India has one of the most sexually repressive cultures on the planet, where even just kissing in public or on TV being highly taboo. Meanwhile, the most sexually open societies in the world, like the tribes of Polynesia, have no incidents of rape, very low rates of crime, and a much happier and less neurotic population.