Britain, France warn over rape threat in India

Britain and France have
revised their travel advisories for India to warn
visitors about the risk of sexual attacks following
two new rape cases involving German and Danish
tourists in recent weeks.
A 51-year-old Danish tourist was robbed and gang-
raped at knife-point in New Delhi on Tuesday after
she lost the way back to her hotel and stopped to
ask directions near the backpacker’s area of the
city.
A day before, an 18-year-old German charity
worker told police in southern India she had been
raped on an overnight train by an Indian passenger.
“Women travellers should exercise caution when
travelling in India even if they are travelling in a
group,” the British advisory posted on the
government website said.
The French foreign office also advised its citizens to
exercise “utmost caution” in an advisory updated
on Thursday.
“Several recent incidents show that foreign women
or expatriates can be the victims of such incidents
in India,” it said.
In early January, a 33-year-old Polish woman was
allegedly drugged and raped as she travelled to the
Indian capital in a taxi with her two-year-daughter.
The series of attacks have shone a fresh spotlight
on the country’s record on sexual violence and its
reputation as a dangerous destination for foreign
female travellers.
On Friday, police in southern Chennai told AFP that a
22-year-old carpenter arrested over the rape of the
German traveller had been remanded in custody for
15 days.
The teenaged victim told police she had taken an
overnight train on January 10 from the southern
port of Mangalore to Chennai and was sleeping on a
lower berth when she was attacked by a fellow
passenger.
In the Danish gang-rape case, three men have been
arrested and police are seeking another five
suspects.
In December 2012, a 23-year-old student was
gang-raped on a moving bus in the capital in an
attack that sent shock waves across the nation. She
later died of her injuries.
Though cases of sexual violence against foreigners
are not new, the attention on rape in the national
media has shone on a light on the frequency of
attacks across the country.
Three Nepalese men were handed life sentences
last month for raping a US tourist, while six Indians
were handed similar punishment last July over the
gang-rape of a Swiss cyclist.