American tourist gangraped in northern India

NEW DELHI - An American woman tourist has been allegedly gangraped in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, a senior police official said.

"The 30-year-old woman was forcibly dragged by a group of men in a truck in the state's resort town of Manali early this morning when she was returning to her hotel after visiting a friend. The accused took the truck to a secluded place and then took turns to rape her," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

The victim was then dumped by the accused on the roadside, he said, adding that, however, she mustered courage to go to the police station to lodge a complaint.

"A massive manhunt has been launched to track down the truck as well as the culprits. We have alerted all police stations in the state as well as neighboring states, and have set up checking points to ensure the accused are arrested," the official said.

The latest gangrape of a foreign tourist in India came barely three months after a Swiss woman was allegedly gangraped by a group of men while she was on a cycling tour of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, along with her husband.

In December last year, the horrific and fatal gangrape of a 23- year-old Indian medical student by six men on a moving bus in the national capital had sparked massive public outrage, forcing the government to bring in stricter laws for sexual assaults on women.