MANALI: A 25-year-old Israeli woman was allegedly gang-raped near Manali after she hitchhiked a car ride in the wee hours of Sunday, a police official said.According to police, the woman was planning to visit Kaza in Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh and was looking for a taxi when a vehicle without a numberplate offered her a lift to Manali, so that she could get a taxi from there. The victim alleged that the vehicle had six men and two of them raped her at a location she could not identify, and then dropped her in Manali. Kullu superintendent of police (SP) Padam Chand said, "The medical examination has been carried out and sent Mandi for expert opinion. The woman has reported that she was looking for an auto or any vehicle near Manali when she was offered the lift."Police are yet find any clues in the case as woman does not know much about the vehicle and the accused. However, police are confident of cracking the case soon as the entire town and its surroundings are under the surveillance of high-definition CCTV cameras. "The complaint has been registered. We are checking video footages. Investigations are headed in the right direction," the SP said.Though the incident took place early morning in the darkness, the woman went to the police station around 10am with a friend. Police are now collecting evidence and checking night-vision camera footage.This is the third incident of rape reported by a foreigner in the past four years in Kullu district. In June 2013, a 29-year-old American woman was gang-raped inside a truck by three Nepalese men when she had hitchhiked a ride from Vashisht to Manali. She was also robbed of her money and cellphone. Instead of taking the victim, who was married and travelling alone in India, to Manali, the accused had taken her towards Rohtang Pass and raped her in a secluded area. In May 2012, a 22-year-old Australian woman was allegedly raped in Kasol village of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh by a Chandigarh man she had befriended on Facebook. The victim had alleged she was raped in her hotel room when she was "unconscious" after attending a party. ||||| An Israeli woman reported that she was gang-raped in northern India on Sunday morning by two men after she accepted a ride in their vehicle. 
 
 The incident took place at around 3 a.m. Sunday near the town of Manali, after the woman, 25, tried to reach Kaza in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, the Times of India reported. Police opened an investigation. 
 
 The woman had been trying to reunite with friends who had already left for the nearby town of Keylong after they all arrived in Manali a few days earlier. 
 
 Unable to find a taxi, the woman accepted a ride in a vehicle without license plates that was carrying six men. The occupants assured her they would take her to Manali, where she could catch a taxi to Keylong. 
 
 At some point along the way, two of the men raped her, the woman told police. After the assault she was dropped off in Manali where, together with a friend, she reported the incident to police later that morning. 
 
 The woman was being treated in a hospital after she reported the attack. The assailants fled. 
 
 “The medical examination has been carried out and sent Mandi for expert opinion,” said Padam Chand, the police superintendent in the Kullu district. “The woman has reported that she was looking for an auto or any vehicle near Manali when she was offered the lift.” 
 
 “She is being shifted today to a bigger hospital in Mandi town to carry out a proper medical examination,” Gandhi Ram, another police officer in Manali, said by phone. 
 
 The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Indian police had confirmed the rape complaint but that Israeli officials had yet to receive further details. 
 
 Although the victim was apparently unable to identify the vehicle, police were confident they could track the suspects, as the area is heavily covered by CCTV cameras, including some with night-vision capabilities, the report said. 
 
 “The complaint has been registered,” Chand said. “We are checking video footage. Investigations are headed in the right direction.” 
 
 India hiked punishments for rapists as part of an overhaul of sexual assault laws in the wake of a fatal gang-rape in 2012 that shone a global spotlight on frightening levels of violence against women in India. 
 
 But rape and sexual assault remain commonplace, with incidents hitting the headlines on an almost daily basis. 
 
 An American woman was raped in Manali in 2013 by three men when she took a ride with them in a truck. In 2012 an Australian woman was also raped in the same area, located in the picturesque Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh state. 
 
 AFP contributed to this report. ||||| This article is over 2 years old 
 
 A 25-year-old woman reports being raped by two men after flagging what she thought was a taxi in the Himalayan town 
 
 Indian police have arrested two men suspected of raping a 25-year-old Israeli tourist in the popular northern Himalayan resort town of Manali, local officers said. 
 
 The arrests were made on Monday following a complaint by the woman that she had been attacked early on Sunday after flagging down what she thought was a taxi and asking for a lift to a nearby town. 
 
 “Two of the six accused of raping an Israeli national have been arrested. Both the men are locals,” said Sanjay Kumar, the police chief of Himachal Pradesh state. 
 
 “A search operation is on to arrest the remaining four accused. The vehicle involved in the crime has also been recovered,” Kumar added. 
 
 Earlier on Monday police Superintendent Padam Chand said the woman had alleged that there were six people in the car, two of whom raped her before fleeing. 
 
 The woman had been trying to reunite with friends who had already left for the nearby town of Keylong after they all arrived in Manali a few days earlier. 
 
 Why is the rape crisis in rural India passing under the radar? | Priya Virmani Read more 
 
 Police were examining CCTV footage from cameras installed on the streets on Manali, popular with holidaying foreigners and Indians, in the hope of identifying the suspects. The Israeli embassy has been informed, Chand said. 
 
 The woman was being treated in hospital after she reported the attack, which took place at about 3am. 
 
 “She is being moved today to a bigger hospital in Mandi town to carry out a proper medical examination,” Gandhi Ram, another police officer in Manali, said. 
 
 India increased punishments for rapists as part of an overhaul of sexual assault laws following a fatal gang-rape in 2012 that shone a global spotlight on the levels of violence against women in India. 
 
 However, rape and sexual assault remain commonplace, with incidents hitting the headlines almost every day. 
 
 An American woman was raped in Manali in 2013 by three men when she took a ride with them in a truck. In 2012 an Australian woman was also raped in the same area, located in the picturesque Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh state. ||||| Highlights The woman had been assaulted on Sunday evening 6 men had offered her a lift while she was waiting for a taxi to Keylong Two of the men had raped her, she said in her complaint 
 
 Two people have been arrested allegedly for raping a 25-year-old Israeli tourist in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.The woman had been assaulted on Sunday evening when the men had offered her a lift. She was waiting for a taxi to go to a nearby town, Keylong.There were six people in the car, two of whom raped her, she had alleged. She is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.Himachal Pradesh police chief Sanjay Kumar said an accused has been arrested and the vehicle used in the crime has also been recovered. The arrest was made after the police examined the CCTV footage of the streets of Manali, to help identify the suspects.'We have formed four teams and hope to catch the other accused soon," said Mr Kumar. The police are looking out for five more accused.The picturesque hill resort of Himachal Pradesh is very popular with young Israelis, who travel in India after their military service, despite concerns about the safety of women.Two years ago, an American woman was raped in Manali by three men when she took a ride with them in a truck. In 2012, an Australian woman was also raped in the same area, located in the picturesque Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh state.
– Police in northern India have made two arrests in connection with the rape of an Israeli tourist, who was assaulted after she accepted a ride with six men while traveling in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Police were using security camera footage from the town of Manali, where the victim was left after the attack, to identify the suspects, NDTV reports. The victim told police that two of the men in the car assaulted her. The local police chief described the men arrested as "locals," according to the Guardian, adding, “A search operation is on to arrest the remaining four accused. The vehicle involved in the crime has also been recovered." The 25-year-old victim is the third tourist raped in the area in that past four years, the Times of India reports. In 2013, three men raped an American woman as she was hitchhiking. The year before, an Australian woman reported being raped in her hotel room by a man she met through Facebook. The Israeli woman told police that she was trying to find a taxi early Sunday to join friends in a nearby town, the Times of Israel reports. The suspects offered her a ride, saying they would take her to Manali and she could get a cab from there. The woman was being treated at a hospital following the attack. Despite increased punishments for rapists in India, the Guardian notes, sexual assault remains a a big problem in the country, "with incidents hitting the headlines almost every day."