Another brutal rape in India

NEW DELHI — Police in Mumbai arrested one suspect Friday and launched a search for four more after a brutal rape in India’s financial capital shocked the country.

In a news conference, Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh said that at around 6:30 Thursday evening, a photojournalist in her early 20s, accompanied by a male companion, went to photograph an abandoned textile mill for an essay on abandoned buildings in the lifestyle magazine where she interned.

As they approached the site, he said, they were accosted by two men who told them that photography was not allowed on railway property.

Then “the men tied the male friend’s hands with a belt,” Singh said. “Two of the accused repeatedly raped the girl, turn by turn. There were only two men at first, they called one more, and then called two more.” The attackers are believed in their early 20s and living in the area, he said, adding: “It was a very heinous crime.”

The reported details of the attack were similar to a high-profile rape in the capital of New Delhi in December, in which a 23-year old woman was attacked on a moving bus and her male companion assaulted, sparking violent demonstrations, a new law, fast-track courts and more female police officers. The woman died of internal injuries two weeks later in the hospital.

The latest attack was particularly upsetting for Mumbai, India’s most populous city, which enjoys a reputation as a place where women can travel safely, even at midnight. New Delhi, by contrast, has been dubbed “India’s rape capital.”

News of the Mumbai attack triggered protests, an uproar in Parliament — where opposition lawmakers accused the government of failing to protect women — and outcry on social media.

“Sad validation of the fact that NO city in India is safe for women,” actress Gul Panag, a former Miss India, said in a Twitter post. “Despicable! We are shamed!” added opposition politician Nirmala Sitharaman in another tweet. “How many more before the criminals are punished? Wake up, India!”

The victim, who cannot be named under Indian law, was admitted to Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital on Thursday night and is in serious but stable condition with internal injuries, the hospital said in a statement.

Mumbai residents expressed shock and shame over Thursday’s attack. “I think the myth about Mumbai being safer, particularly for working women, was shattered last night,” said Shobhaa De, a columnist and Mumbai socialite. “The character of the city has altered. Absolute lawlessness is prevalent across India.”