American Woman Allegedly Drugged, Gang-Raped In India, Complaint Filed Against 2 Unidentified Men

An American woman has filed a complaint against two unidentified men alleging that she was drugged and gang raped in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, local media reports said Thursday. The incident is the latest in a string of episodes highlighting the rising violence against women in the country.

The alleged gang-rape reportedly took place at the tourist town of Dharamsala, about 300 miles north of New Delhi. An investigation is underway into the incident and local police are reportedly looking for the suspects.

"I had gone to shop at a market on September 14 when two people attacked me from behind," the 46-year-old tourist said, according to the Times of India, a local newspaper.

The woman, from California, was reportedly on her first visit to India and had visited tourist destinations in the northern part of the country, like Kullu and Manali, before coming to Dharamsala.

"Spot inspection and medical examination of complainant has been done. The matter is being investigated," Renu Sharma, a senior police official told Asian News International.

Several high-profile attacks on foreign women has badly hurt tourism to India. Earlier this year, a 51-year-old female tourist from Denmark alleged gang rape in the capital city of New Delhi. In February, A 20-year-old Japanese woman claimed she was raped by a tourist guide in the northern Indian city of Jaipur.

Gang rapes in India have drawn worldwide attention and the government has tightened laws on sexual violence following the 2012 gang rape, and subsequent death, of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi.