British teen raped in Himachal, 2 arrested

A 18-year-old British girl was allegedly raped in a cab by two men in Himachal Pradesh's Palampur town late on Thursday night. The men have been arrested, police said.

A 18-year-old British girl was allegedly raped in a cab by two men in Himachal Pradesh's Palampur town late Thursday night. The men have been arrested, police said on Friday.

HT Image

The girl was working with an NGO, Sarthak, and staying on the outskirts of Palampur, 250 km from here, since June 3 along with a few other British nationals.

She was returning after her day's work Thursday night and was offered a lift by the two men on the outskirts of Palampur. "The accused first molested her in the moving vehicle and then dragged her out and raped her," Kangra Superintendent of Police Atul Kumar Fulzele said.

"The victim reported the matter to police early Friday morning," he said. Medical tests confirmed sexual assault.

Fulzele told IANS that the girl had identified the accused, who were arrested.

The accused men - Rakesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar - would be produced in a court Saturday, he added.

A total of 42 British citizens have come to India for 10 weeks to teach poor children under an exchange programme, the police official said.

Police have informed the British High Commission in New Delhi of the incident.