The safety of travellers in India is under the spotlight after a Spanish vlogger couple who were on a motorcycle tour of India were hijacked and the female traveller of the duo was gang-raped.
Travel couple Vicente and Fernanda, known to their audience as Vuelta Al Mundo En Moto, took to Instagram to share with their followers the unfortunate incident after Fernanda was gang-raped by seven men and Vicente was assaulted.
Very difficult video to watch.
— AskAubry 🦝 (@ask_aubry) March 4, 2024
Spanish biking travel-voggler Fernanda, with her husband Vincente known to their audience as Vuelta Al Mundo En Moto, was gang raped by 7 men while in India.
Only 4 of the 7 men have been arrested so far. pic.twitter.com/0FkcaWSAMX
“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 of many things, because what they wanted was to rape me. We are in hospital with the police, it happened tonight here in India,” said the couple in a video shared to X.
Vuelta Al Mundo En Moto have travelled around the world on motorcycle for over five years and have been to more than 66 countries.
According to local Indian media reports, the biker couple were en route to Nepal when they were attacked in Jharkhand in the state’s Dumka district on Friday night, March 1.
Reports revealed that the couple stopped their motorbikes and set up a tent to pass the night when a group of seven men attacked them.
Following the incident, Al Jazeera has reported that Indian authorities have arrested four people suspected of being part of the group that gang-raped Fernanda and assaulted Vicente.
Following a public outcry over the incident, the couple have taken to their Instagram stories cautioning travellers not to make extreme generalisations about travelling to India.
“We have read many absurd comments, saying that we brought it on ourselves by coming to India, or by camping, that nothing has happened to us, etc. We mean that this can happen to anyone, to your daughter, to your sister, your mother and in any country in the world.
“Nobody is free, this has already happened many times in Spain, Brazil and America. So don’t talk nonsense that it’s because we are in India,” said the couple.