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6 Men to Appear in Indian Court Over Gang Rape


Indian Deputy Inspector General DK Arya (C) sits in front of five hooded suspects during a press meeting in Datia, about 75 kms from Gwalior in central Madhya Pradesh state, March 17, 2013.
Indian Deputy Inspector General DK Arya (C) sits in front of five hooded suspects during a press meeting in Datia, about 75 kms from Gwalior in central Madhya Pradesh state, March 17, 2013.
Indian police say six men accused of the gang-rape and robbery of a Swiss tourist will appear in court Monday.

Officials say the men were arrested in central Madya Pradesh state.

The French news agency says the suspects were "paraded" at a police station in Datia district late Sunday. The men are between the ages of 20 and 25.

The 39-year-old Swiss woman was on a cycling trip with her husband when they were attacked by a group of men at the couple's forest campsite near a road after visiting the temple town of Orchha.

Deputy police inspector D.K. Arya said the men beat the husband and raped the woman in front of him. They stole a laptop, $185 and a mobile phone from the couple.

Arya said six or seven men attacked the Swiss couple in their tent and at least four of them raped the woman, who was later treated at a local hospital and released.

The attack is the latest example of violent sexual assaults on women in India. It comes three months after outrage and nationwide protests erupted following the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student by five men and a juvenile on a bus in New Delhi last December.

That attack prompted demands that the government do more to protect women.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau, one woman is raped every 20 minutes in India. But police say many incidents go unreported due to the stigma attached to such crimes.
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