Vir Das, Richa Chadha condemn Spanish tourist's gang rape

Actors Vir Das, Richa Chadha, and Dulquer Salmaan on Sunday expressed shock over the gang rape of a Spanish tourist in Jharkhand's Dumka district and demanded that perpetrators be brought to justice.

The woman from Spain was allegedly gang-raped at Kurumahat in Hansdiha police station area, around 300 km from the state capital Ranchi, on Friday night when she was spending the night in a tent along with her husband, police said.

Three persons, who were arrested in connection with the case, were produced before a court on Sunday. An official, on condition of anonymity, said seven to eight local youths were involved in the incident.

Das called for immediate intervention by the authorities in the matter.

"The 7 men responsible for Jharkhand need to be found and given the strictest punishment the law can provide. A shameful act that we MUST show will not be tolerated," he said on the microblogging site.

Salmaan said he was "crushed" to hear the news.

"You both recently visited Kottayam where close friends hosted you for a meal. This should not happen to anyone anywhere (sic)" the actor wrote on his Instagram Story.

Chadha termed the act "shameful".

"Indians are treating foreigners like they treat their own women. Shame on our rotten society," she wrote on X.

"I hope there’s a rapid investigative closure to the rape of the Spanish tourist in Jharkhand and some exemplary punishment handed out soonest. Believe some suspects have been arrested already. This is beyond disgusting and horrific (sic)" said photographer-producer Atul Kasbekar.

Reacting to a Seattle-based reporter's alleged experience with "sexual aggression in India," singer Chinmayi Sripada said: "Now they’ll say this is an excuse to defame India, toolkit, etc."

The couple had reached Dumka from Bangladesh on two motorcycles and was en route to Bihar and then Nepal.