Rape case floods embassy with apology letters

Indians lament the rape of a 51-year-old Dane last week

Since a 51-year-old Danish woman was brutally gang raped in New Delhi just over a week ago, the Danish Embassy in the Indian capital has experienced a massive influx of electronic mail.

Freddy Svane, the Danish ambassador to India, revealed that the embassy has been flooded with correspondence from Indian people lamenting the crime.

“We have received a lot of messages from Indian citizens who have expressed their anger and regret that such a crime could occur in their country,” Svane told DR Nyheder. “They are ashamed that this has happened.”

READ MORE: Rape trial gets underway in India

Rape capital of the world
Five of the men and one of the under-aged suspects faced a judge yesterday and were remanded in custody until February 6. Indian police are still on the hunt for at least one additional suspect who is still at large.

The attack against the Danish tourist is among the latest brutal rapes in India and the crime is dominating the public agenda, according to the ambassador.

“There is a very fierce public debate about how to stop this crime from happening,” Svane said. “The debate is taking place in the modern and the poor parts of the country, in the written and electronic media, in schools and on the streets. Everyone has an opinion about this and wants it to be stopped.”

READ MORE: Danish woman gang raped in India

Punishable by death
The string of high-profile rapes in the country has led to India making rape a crime punishable by death, and several other changes.

“Special hotlines have been established and now there are police stations in which only women are employed,” Svane said.

India’s reputation as the rape capital of the world was further enhanced after a 20-year-old woman from the Birbhum district was gang raped on Tuesday on the orders of village elders who accused her of having an affair with a man from another village.

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