The Spanish national who was allegedly gangraped in Jharkhand’s Dumka on Friday night is “emotionally shattered” but physically in stable condition, said Anil Kumar Mishra, Dumka’s Principal District Judge (PDJ) and Chairman of the District Legal Services Authority.
Mishra made the observations in a report to the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) after meeting the woman. The visit came after JHALSA executive chairman Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad took cognizance of the incident.
According to a JHALSA official, the PDJ and his team ensured that the woman had security, assisted in recording her statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and directed that compensation of Rs 10 lakh be paid to her.
Writing to JHALSA, PDJ Mishra said, “(We) assured them that the wrongdoers will be apprehended as soon as possible and prosecuted. The victim was emotionally shattered but was in stable physical condition, and medical examination was in process.”
The woman was allegedly raped by seven men on Friday night after she and her partner stopped in Dumka for the night while on a biking trip.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad has directed the police to file reports on the investigation on a regular basis. While four people have been arrested, police are on the lookout for the other accused.
Meanwhile, the Spanish couple posted a picture of the accused on social media and appealed to the public to help the police in finding them.
In a post in Spanish, the couple said, “(India) is a great country and worth visiting. It has its good things and its bad things… And thanks to the police and everyone.”
They also said in a post they have received “absurd comments” that they brought this situation on themselves by visiting India.
“The point is that a rape or a robbery can happen to you, to your brother, to your mother, to your daughter, to anyone. No one is free from that, in any country in the world. It has happened in Spain, many times. It has happened all over the world… There are violations in all countries in Spain, Brazil, America… So don’t talk nonsense that it’s because we are in India,” they said.
“…We ask that justice be done, not only for us but also for all the other women and girls who have gone through this…We are two strong people and this is not going to break us. Not at all…We will not stop living and hiding at home in fear because of these scum,” they added.
