Two Tibetans arrested for raping German in Himachal

DHARAMSALA - Two Tibetan youths were arrested for allegedly raping a 46-year-old German woman in Himachal Pradesh, police said Sunday. A court later remanded them in three days police custody.

“Two Tibetan youths in the age group of 22-23 were arrested from Dharamsala (in Kangra district) late last (Saturday) night on charges of raping a German woman for two successive days - Dec 27 and 28 - during her stay at Bagsunag near McLeodganj,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (Kangra) Omapati Jamwal told IANS.

“The judicial magistrate of Dharamsala this (Sunday) evening sent both the accused - Tsering, 23, and Swang, 21, - to police remand till Jan 20,” he added.

The victim reported to the police Friday that one of the accused allegedly took her to an isolated room Dec 27 where he and his friend sexually assaulted her for two days.

Jamwal said the woman was Jan 7 found lying unconscious at Bagsunag, near McLeodganj, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, and the police admitted her to the Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital at Tanda town. She told the doctors there that she fell unconscious from a drug overdose.

The victim lodged the complaint after she was discharged from the hospital, he said.

“Both the arrests have been made on the basis of information provided by the victim. She has also identified both the accused,” the police official said.

The two youth have been charged with rape and abduction under the Indian Penal Code.

“Both the accused are jobless and are settled in this town for quite some time,” a police official said.

The victim was in India for the past 10 months on a tourist visa. However, her visa expired Saturday.

This was the second case of a foreigner being raped in Kangra district in six months.

In June last year, an 18-year-old British charity worker, who was on an exchange teaching programme and was staying along with a few other British nationals, was raped by two cab drivers in Palampur town.