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Gang rape of photo journalist shocks Indian financial city Mumbai
Nobody has been arrested so far: police
- Reuters
India’s Maharashtra state Home Minister R.R. Patil (centre L) speaks with city Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh (centre R) as they depart the city hospital where a gang rape victim is admitted, in Mumbai early morning on August 23, 2013. Five men gang-raped a woman photographer in India’s financial hub Mumbai, police said August 23, stirring memories of a similar incident eight months ago in New Delhi which triggered nationwide protests. (AFP)
A photo journalist in her early 20s was gang-raped in the Indian city of Mumbai, police said on Friday, evoking comparisons to a similar assault in New Delhi in December that led to nationwide protests and a revision of thecountry’s rape laws.
The attack on Thursday evening caused an outcry on social media, with many users shocked that it took place in Mumbai, widely considered to be India’s safest city for women.
The woman has been admitted to hospital in south Mumbai, police said.
“Nobody has been arrested so far,” a head constable at the police station dealing with the case told Reuters.
The attack took place in an abandoned textile mill in LowerParel, a former industrial district that is now one of the city’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods of luxury apartments, malls and bars. The woman was out on assignment with a male colleague.
“In the evening, the girl and her colleague were clicking pictures. Two men approached her asking her if she had permission to shoot. Another man then joined in and the photographer was gang-raped,” Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told an Indian television station. Other reports said more men were involved in the attack.
“We’ve brought in 10 people for questioning,” Singh said.
Women’s safety in India has been in the spotlight this year following the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on moving bus in New Delhi in December, which led thousands of Indians to take to the streets in protest. The woman died of her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
The trials of the four men and one juvenile accused of the December attack are expected to conclude within the next three weeks. The verdict on the juvenile suspect is due to be passed on Aug 31. Closing arguments in the trial of the four adult suspects started on Thursday.
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