Cops: Japanese Student Kidnapped, Gang-Raped in India

Five men reportedly arrested
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 3, 2015 11:14 AM CST
Cops: Japan Woman in India Kidnapped, Gang-Raped
Indians participate in a candlelit vigil protesting violence against women last month in New Delhi.   (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Another horrific gang-rape story is emerging out of India, this time involving a 22-year-old Japanese woman who police say was held for at least 12 days, reports the New York Times. Police have arrested five men, including two brothers, reports the BBC. Authorities say that the young academic was staying in Kolkata when a man who speaks fluent Japanese lured her away by posing as a tour guide. He and other accomplices then allegedly held her in a village near Bodh Gaya, a popular destination because of its Buddhist pilgrimage center, and repeatedly raped her, reports the Guardian.

Details of the case are still coming together, and reports differ substantially. Most accounts say she eventually escaped and reached authorities in Varanasi, for example, while the Times of India says her captors put her on a bus. Some reports say she was held 12 days, some three weeks, and others (including the BBC) for more than a month. All seem to agree, though, that gangs are preying on female Japanese tourists. The men have been charged with gang rape, wrongful confinement, kidnapping, molestation, and criminal conspiracy. (More India stories.)

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