Mysuru gang rape: India student being treated in hospital

Sexual violence against women has been a focus in India in recent years

A 23-year-old Indian student is being treated in a hospital for injuries sustained during a gang rape even as police search for her attackers.

The woman was earlier reported to be "critical" but police in Mysuru city in Karnataka say she's "out of danger".

They say they are looking for five men after her male friend, who was also assaulted, gave a statement.

The incident took place near Chamundi hills, a secluded forested area popular with couples.

The survivor, a student of a local management institute, and her college mate were accosted on Tuesday night at around 19:30 as they were returning to the city from Lalithadripura, a Mysuru suburb, BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi reports from the state capital, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).

Police officials said the attackers were reportedly drunk and physically assaulted the male student by throwing liquor bottles at him before sexually assaulting the survivor.

The men initially attempted to rob them but later beat up the male friend and took the survivor away to sexually assault her, they added.

"She is out of danger," Mysuru Commissioner of Police Chandragupta, who uses only one name, told BBC Hindi.

"Several teams have been formed to arrest the culprits. It is a sensitive case and more details cannot be disclosed," he added.

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The case is drawing comparison with the infamous gang-rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus in the Indian capital, Delhi, in December 2012. She died a few days later from her injuries.

Her male friend, who was also assaulted, provided key information which led to the arrest of her six rapists, including a juvenile.

The incident led to global outrage and forced India to introduce tough new laws to deal with crimes of sexual nature. Five men were given the death penalty and four of them were executed last year - the fifth died in jail.

But despite the increased scrutiny, there has been no let up in the number of sexual crimes against women.

In 2018, police recorded 33,977 cases of rape in India - that's an average of a rape every 15 minutes. Campaigners say the actual numbers are much higher as many are not even reported.