Manali, July 25 (IANS) Two persons were arrested on Monday for the alleged gang rape of a 25-year-old Israeli national near this Himachal Pradesh tourist resort, a top police official said.
Akshay Rana and Pankaj Sharma of Kullu district were arrested and the vehicle involved in the crime was seized, Director General of Police Sanjay Kumar said in a statement.
A massive hunt is on to arrest the remaining four accused, he added.
The victim had reached Manali, some 500 km from Delhi, along with friends a few days before the alleged incident.
The woman informed the police that her friends left her alone in Manali for journeying to Kaza in the Spiti Valley.
According to the victim, she did not find a taxi and took a lift in a vehicle carrying six men, two of whom assaulted her early on Sunday, investigating officer Gandhi Ram told IANS.
He said the accused took the victim to a secluded spot on the outskirts of Manali and sexually assaulted her.
After the crime, she was left in Manali where she reported the incident to the police.
"She underwent medical examination at a hospital in Manali. But she asked for more tests and was then taken to Mandi town on Sunday night," the officer said.
Gandhi said the woman, who is still in Manali, was yet to identify the accused.
He said the police has collected evidence and is going through CCTV footage to find the culprits.
The police said the victim has given her statement but could not reveal the exact location of the crime scene.
This was the second incident involving foreign tourists since June 2013 when a US national was raped by three cab drivers in Manali. The drivers were later sentenced to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment for the crime.
