(Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual violence. Reader discretion advised.)
"I have been in constant touch with her. Every time I ask her if I can be of help to her, or if she needs something, she says, 'I wish I could forget it... I wish I could delete this memory.' Hearing about what happened to her makes me so hurt and angry," said Dr Maral Yazarloo-Pattrick, a friend of a 28-year-old Brazilian biker, who was allegedly gang-raped and assaulted by seven men in Jharkhand's Dumka district on 1 March.
The incident took place at Kurumahat, which is around 350 km from state capital Ranchi, when the survivor – a biker and travel vlogger with more than 200,000 followers on Instagram – and her Spanish husband stopped for the night while on a motorbike tour across India.
While the Jharkhand Police on Saturday, 2 March, arrested three people in connection with the incident, five more men in connection with the gangrape were arrested on Tuesday, 5 March, reported ANI.
The incident has led to widespread outrage over crimes against women in India. The Quint speaks to the survivor's friends and fellow bikers who are seeking justice for her.
'Can't Imagine What She's Going Through'
Dr Yazarloo-Pattrick, an Iran-born motorcyclist settled in India, told The Quint over a telephonic conversation, "It hits differently when you know the person to whom this has happened. Can you even imagine the pain that she must be going through? I am angry and disgusted by what has happened..."
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Urvashi Patole, a biker who has been going on bike tours for 21 years, said that she was "heartbroken" and could "not describe her feelings in words."
"It is so sad to even imagine what she has been through. It's disturbing... I am glad that she is alive, but nothing can match the sadness and grief that she is going through... My heart is hurting thinking about it..." said Patole, who is the co-founder of The Bikerni, an association of women motorcyclists in India.
Anamika Joseph, another biker based out of Jharkhand, said she felt angrier that it happened in her home state. "We in India say Atithi Devo Bhava (our guest is akin to god). Is this how we treat your god? I don't think so. I am more furious that this has happened in my state Jharkhand."
On Friday, 1 March, the Spanish woman, originally from Brazil, who had been travelling around India on her bike along with her husband since July 2023, alleged that she was assaulted and gang-raped by seven men while they were camping in Dumka.
Narrating her ordeal on a now-deleted Instagram story, the woman in Spanish, she said: "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 many things, because what they wanted was to rape me. We are in the hospital with the police, it happened tonight here in India."
The Jharkhand Police later confirmed that a medical test was conducted on the woman which suggested she was raped.
'Victim-Blaming is Ridiculous, Problematic'
While massive support poured in for the survivor on social media, a certain section of X users blamed her for "roaming in the jungles at night."
Thirty-nine-year-old Antra Khurana, a biker with 15 years of experience, told The Quint that this was a classic example of victim-blaming – a phenomenon in which victims of crimes or tragedies are held accountable for what happened to them.
"This incident shook me up. It's like your worst nightmare, but it has happened to someone else. I've been speaking to a lot of people about this. What's most appalling is that a gang-rape has occurred, but instead of accepting the problems, I have seen people ask why she was camping at night and making comments like, 'Oh you only care about foreigners, but Indians get raped too'. Someone in Jharkhand I called for help told me that 'at least she is alive....' All of this is ridiculous and disturbs us."Antra Khurana
The bikers The Quint spoke to said it was common for them to camp at night while on tours.
"I think it's very easy to pass judgement on someone else. It's very common for people like [survivor] and her partner to camp on such long tours. All of us, including them, check where the nearest main road is, where utility shops are. Even when I camp, I always know where I get network and where I don't. It's wrong to make generalised statements," added Patola.
Patole, however, said that there was no point arguing with people online. "We have much more important things like worrying for our friends' safety and well-being. There is no point arguing with these comments and trolls online. I have stopped replying to a lot of people."
"You should be accepting that something is wrong with the system. If you are calling something out, it means you're calling out the particular instance. Don't blame the victim for being outside at night. You should question what the accused are doing," added Joseph.
'It's Not About a Foreigner or India, It's About What Happened to a Woman'
Meanwhile, a lot of social media discussions highlighted how "unsafe India was to let women travel alone."
One of them, writer David Josef Volodzko, noted that the "level of sexual aggression" that he witnessed while living in India for several years was unlike anywhere else he had ever been.
The post sparked various reactions with some agreeing and many launching attacks on Volodzko. Among the latter was the National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma, who equated the issue of the safety of women with defaming the country. Sharma wrote:
"Did you ever report the incident to Police? If not than you are totally an irresponsible person. Writing only on social media and defaming whole country is not good choice."
"If you have to think what you have to wear, where to go out, when to go out at night to not get raped, that's the main issue... some people are saying this is happening in every country. It's not about foreigners or Indians. It's about what has happened to a woman. It's about justice for every woman who has been raped."Dr Yazarloo-Pattrick
"When I read Rekha Sharma's comment, I got extremely furious. You are supposed to be protecting us... the sun shines brightest on the top of the body. This is the example you are showing to the world. It's always 'women is wrong.' It's like everything is wrong with us, and not the rapists," said Khurana.
'There Will Be an Underlying Fear Now': Bikers
Dr Yazarloo-Pattrick told The Quint that next time someone hits the road, "they will bound to be extra cautious."
"When something like this happens, there will be a slight fear. Next time I want to go on the road, my husband will think twice. I am going to Northeast in two days. Of course, this won't stop me..."Dr Maral Yazarloo-Pattrick
Khurana admitted that there was no "outright," but an "underlying fear" while travelling solo on bikes. "Most women bikers I know plan their routes meticulously, because they don't want to ride late in the night."
Meanwhile, Patole told The Quint:
"Seeing this happen is heartbreaking because we have been trying to motivate women. We have had our members ride all across [the country] to motivate other women as well. Even [the survivor] has said, 'Don't generalise that India is unsafe...' You can't take one incident and say the campaign is dangerous. This incident was tragic. But we are going to do our 100% to give the couple support to get justice. We want the perpetrators to be caught... at the same time, we want to let people know that there should not be an instant fear in your heart when you are following your dreams."Urvashi Patole, a motorcycle biker
"The onus of women safety shouldn't be on women – the system should make that happen. I believe a bunch of stuff goes hand in hand, respect being the basis of it all, and then societal and legal and then if the worse happens, then laws also should be strict enough to act as a deterrent," concluded Khurana.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)