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German tourist escapes rape bid
Vibhor Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 2
A German tourist survived an attempt on her life today as she put up a brave resistance to abort a rape attempt on her by a local shepherd while she was having a stroll close to the Bhagsunag waterfall, near here.

As she tried to escape from him, the accused made an attempt to slit her neck with a sickle, inflicting a serious cut around the neck. The victim had to be given 12 stitches to stop the bleeding.

Talking to The Tribune, the victim, Karina, said she had gone out to take a walk in the open fields near the waterfall around 12:30 pm today when the shepherd, who is a resident of the area and known to the locals, tried to rape her.

“He had turned so violent that I tried hard to free myself from him and started running towards the settlement after pushing him away. He chased me and hit me from behind with a sickle, seriously injuring me. Had I been caught totally unawares, I would have died in no time,” she said.

The victim, who has been staying in India for nearly two weeks, was rushed to a Tibetan hospital in McLeodganj by a fellow German, where she was given first aid and was referred to the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Zonal Hospital for treatment.

The doctors attending on her said she was given 12 stitches. She had sustained two long cuts on the right side of her neck and was now out of danger.

“My concern is that the accused is still at large and could be a threat to other foreign tourists and even locals in the area. He should be nabbed immediately so that no more lives are put to risk. Although I do not know his name, I can identify him. He was skinny and must be in his early thirties,” she said.

“I moved around for nearly three hours after the incident to get treatment before the final dressing was done. I am finally feeling a bit relieved now,” she said before being discharged from the casualty ward of the hospital.

Requesting anonymity, a fellow German, who helped the victim get treatment, said the accused looked like an Indian, who had a problem with his left eye. He is often seen moving around and appeared to be a shepherd.

“The police did not register a case. I took cops to the hospital in my car so that they could take stock of the situation by speaking to the victim and take a decision whether the incident was worth a police case or not. I am trying to get in touch with my Embassy officials so that they can intervene to ensure that the local administration cooperates with us. The innocent girl may have to live with the scar all her life,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the time of filing of this report, the police was still in the process of taking the statement of the victim and a case was yet to be registered.