2 arrested for raping Israeli woman in Manali

VICTIM SHIFTED FROM MANALI CIVIL HOSPITAL TO BILASPUR AS SHE REFUSED TO UNDERGO MEDICAL EXAMINATION IN WOMAN DOCTOR’S ABSENCE

SHIMLA: Police arrested two motor mechanics on Monday for allegedly raping a 25-yearold Israeli woman in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali town, 250km from here.

The suspects, who are in their early 20s, were identified as Akshay Rana and Pankaj Sharma of Kullu district.

“The police have also impounded the car (HP 34B 0786) used in the crime,” said Puneet Raghu, Manali deputy superintendent of police, adding, “We are also scanning the CCTV footage.”

The police have registered a case under Sections 363(kidnapping), 366(abducting), 376-D(gangrape) and 506(criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The victim had alleged that she was gangraped by two men, who offered her a lift on Sunday morning when she could not find a taxi.

“She told us that six persons were sitting in the car and that they had offered her lift to the local bus stand, but instead took her to a secluded spot on the outskirts of Manali, where two of them raped her,” Kullu superintendent of police Padam Chand told Hindustan Times over the telephone.

The victim had come to Manali, along with her friends, two days back and had plans to visit Buddhist learning centre at Kaza in Lahual and Spiti district.

Meanwhile, the victim was admitted to Manali Civil Hospital, from where she was shifted to Bilaspur, 200km from Manali, as she allegedly refused to undergo medical examination in the absence of a woman doctor.

This is the second incident involving foreign tourists since June 2013 when a US national was raped by three cab drivers in Manali. The drivers were later sentenced to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for the crime. HTC