Second suspect held in Indian sex attack

Police have arrested a second man on accusations of gang-raping a female photographer in Mumbai, the Indian financial hub. The second arrest was made overnight, Satyanarayan Choudhary, a police spokesman, told AFP news agency, without giving further details. Police also said they had identified the three remaining suspects after releasing their sketches to the public, and 20 special teams had been formed as part of the manhunt. The two detained men were expected to be produced before a magistrates court later on Saturday, local media reported. The victim, reportedly a journalism intern, was taken for treatment at Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital, where staff said that she was in stable condition with internal and external injuries. The Mumbai incident prompted outrage on social media sites, uproar in the Indian parliament and protests in Mumbai led by journalists. Hundreds of rape cases Women’s safety in India has been in the spotlight this year following the gangrape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in December, which led thousands of Indians to take to the streets in protest. In response, the government passed a new stringent law increasing prison terms for rape and making voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the trafficking of women punishable under criminal law. The trials of the four men and one juvenile accused of the December attack are expected to conclude within the next three weeks. The verdict on the juvenile suspect is due to be passed on August 31. Closing arguments in the trial of the four adult suspects started on Thursday. About 25,000 rape cases in the country were reported last year alone, of which 706 were reported in New Delhi, making it the city with the highest number of rapes. Mumbai, known for being more women-friendly, recorded 232 rapes last year, according to the National Crimes Record Bureau. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Vrinda Grover, a Delhi-based lawyer, said: “There has been a lot of a very brutal sexual violence not only in the capital but across the country recently. “The changes in the law doesn’t change the culture of violence. Indians need to address the fundamental inequality of women.”