Spanish vloggers robbed, sexually assaulted by seven men in India sparks outrage

INDIA: A Spanish couple who are travel vloggers focused on motorcycle adventures, Vincente and Fernanda, recently shared a harrowing experience from their travels in India.

Taking to their official Instagram page ‘vueltaalmundoenmoto‘ (Around the World on Motorcycle) on 1 March, the couple disclosed via Instagram Story, a traumatic incident where they were assaulted, robbed, and Fernanda was sexually assaulted by a group of seven men.

The video was captioned, “Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone.

Seven men have raped me. They have beaten us and robbed us, although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me.

We are at the hospital with police. It happened tonight here in India.”

The unfortunate event unfolded while the couple was en route to Nepal via Bhagalpur but had stopped in Dumka to rest and set up their tent near the Hansdiha market.

As they slept, seven young men forcibly entered their tent and subjected them to assault, as reported by Spanish media.

In the Instagram story video, both Vincente and Fernanda are visibly bruised and swollen.

Vincente displays bruises on his head, while Fernanda’s temple, cheek and jawline bear dark red marks.

“We are at the hospital, here in India, accompanied by the police. They have allowed us to rest here,” Fernanda says in the video, her eyes welled up with tears.

Vincente explains that after reporting the assault, they were taken to the Saraiyahat Community Health Centre where Fernanda underwent a rape kit examination.

“They beat us. They held a knife to my neck, threatening to kill me,” Vincente recounts in another video, showing his swollen lower lip, seemingly stitched up.

Dumka Superintendent of Police Pitamber Singh Kherwar said, “The couple flagged down a patrol van around midnight. Initially, the patrol team had difficulty understanding the situation as the woman was speaking a mix of English and Spanish. They were then taken to a nearby health center.”

“The doctors subsequently informed the police about the assault. I received a call around 1.30 am and rushed to the scene for verification,” the SP added.

The incident goes viral

Following the incident, journalist Anna Slatz shared the video on her X page (formerly Twitter), which has garnered over 107.1 million views by the time of writing since its posting on 3 March, eliciting shocked and outraged responses.

a travelvlog couple trying to visit every country in the world decided to go to India as their latest destination.

11 hours ago they announced they were at the hospital because he had been beaten up and she had been gang raped by 7 men. pic.twitter.com/WNSd21TUi5

— pagliacci the hated 🌝 (@Slatzism) March 2, 2024

The video also gained traction in Malaysia after being circulated on local social media, with similar reactions from netizens., garnering 1.3 million views by the time of writing.

Many of the comments under Anna Slatz’s viral post expressed sympathy for the couple.

Some comments suggested that women should avoid traveling to India.

However, others pointed out that such comments generalize Indians based on isolated incidents.

Some individuals explained that the incident occurred in a less visited region where tourists are rare.

My country is not for liberal touring. You need to visit only the “good” places, with ample awareness about local conditions and with a group, possibly with an Indian familiar with the place you’re in.

Dumka barely sees any tourists. If they were aware of the dangers about the…

— Vaibhav 🫰 (@0xBatti) March 3, 2024

Four out of seven accused arrested

According to a report by the Indian Express, Jharkhand Director General of Police Ajay Kumar Singh confirmed that all seven suspects had been identified, with four already arrested. “The remaining three will be apprehended soon,” he stated.

Speaking to the Indian media, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey said, “Neither Adivasis nor Dalits are safe in Jharkhand”, and “Now this has become an international matter that a Spanish woman comes with her husband to India, and it comes to light that she has been gang-raped”.

“I appeal to CM Champai Soren to concentrate on law and order in the state. If posting will take place based on any caste then this sort of incident will occur often,” he added.

Couple advised against stereotyping India

On 3 March, the Spanish couple posted another video on their Instagram story, expressing gratitude for the support received during this trying time.

Vincente and Fernanda also took the opportunity to address misconceptions about India, stating, “Do not think India is like that, because that is not true.

India is a country with many good people. It is a great country worth visiting.

Like all countries , it has its good and bad things. This has been an accident and it doesn’t have to leave us a memory that it is a bad country.”

They also thanked the police and everyone who had assisted them.

Fernanda emphasized,, “Indians are good people. We have collided with some undesirables that we hope will be severely punished but it should not be generalised.”

While their current whereabouts were not explicitly stated, they mentioned in the video, “We are still here waiting for to be solved.”