Third man arrested over India gang-rape

A third man has been arrested over the gang-rape of a woman photographer in Mumbai that has drawn comparisons with an attack in December that led to nationwide protests and a revision of rape laws.

Two other suspects are still at large, and 20 teams had been formed as part of the search for them.

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.

She and a male colleague, who was tied up and beaten during the attack, had been on a magazine assignment to take pictures of an abandoned textile mill when they were cornered by a group of men. 

News of Thursday’s attack sparked street protests and uproar in parliament and put the spotlight back on women’s safety in India, where memories of the rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi last December are still fresh.

Tougher punishments

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 end in the next three weeks.

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.”