Attention Ladies: Sexual Assault in McLeod Ganj

Ladies, please be careful traveling in McLeod Ganj (and everywhere, of course) and please let my terrifying experience be a cautionary tale.

I have spent many many months in McLeod Ganj on 4 separate long-term stays, and always felt safe there. But last month, I woke up at 3am being sexually assaulted by a man who came in through my 2nd floor window. My boyfriend was in bed with me, and God knows what would have happened had he not been.

There's no need to go into the gory details here, but please be advised that the reaction of the men in my guest house was almost as horrific as the attack. These were men I have known for years, who send me updates about their families via email, and who refer to me as their family. But when it actually came time to help a woman who had been attacked, they tried to convince me that it is illegal to be in bed with someone who is not your husband, and that going to the police would mean trouble for ME and be a humiliating waste of time.

It became very clear that they assumed any reporting would mean trouble for their business, and in the end, that was more important than taking action against a rapist...a rapist staying in the room next to mine who was guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. It took screaming/begging/crying/pleading for them to even knock on his door. When my boyfriend tried to hit him, they held him back and said, "We don't want any trouble." The man ended up jumping off his balcony and running away, surely feeling encouraged that he can attack the next woman and face no consequences.

It was a horrific and surreal experience, and I hope and pray this never happens to any of you. It is easy to get swept away with the friendly ease of beautiful McLeod Ganj, but attacks do happen and response from locals--even friends--can be infuriatingly, shockingly disappointing. Not that the police would/could do much, but please just take this as a brutal lesson in how hugely different the response to sexual assault is in India versus many other countries.

Ladies, please be careful and keep a realistic attitude about where you are and the institutions there.

Yes the innkeeper is the last person to approach as its against their self interest. Always go to the police and register your case..

I am really sorry to hear of this. My wife and I have stayed many times in McLeod Ganj and never could imagine this happening.
Where were you staying? We always stay at The Chonner House, maybe it's more secure there???

I hope this won't deter you from going back and just staying at another guest house~

Is your boyfriend a local & were these 'friends' of his also?

Sorry to hear about that.


Do post the name of that guest house.

Also look for windows with bars
Local boy friends could be dangerous . There are lot of professional boy friends around India

First I want to say that what happened is terrible and unjust.
I want to be careful here because perhaps the McLeod Ganj police have begun quietly solving these sort of cases; but I have not heard of any examples. They do not have a great reputation.

Unfortunately, unless you had compelling physical evidence that a sexual assault had taken place I doubt that anything would be done other than you being accused of being in a love triangle, and perhaps your boyfriend (unless he is a foreigner) and the guest house managers being harassed or worse. I don't know the ethnicity of your guesthouse manager and boyfriend. Tibetans and Kashmiris and indeed the poor do not receive the same treatment from the police as Himachalis from "good" families.

Negative attitudes towards outsiders prevail. There are even laws that prevent non-Himachalis (except for the rich and famous) from owning property in the state. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/201...himachal.htm#1

Typically unmarried Indians of the opposite sex, other than family members, do not share rooms although values and what is viewed as socially acceptable behavior is changing. Small town cops and many people in general are often very conservative when it comes to such things.

There is also a law on the books in India preventing unmarried couples from sharing a hotel room. It is not generally enforced and should be updated, however at present it stands and hotel managers are sometimes intimidated by it. Refer to 6(1)b http://wcd.nic.in/act/itpa1956.htm

6. Detaining a person in premises where prostitution is carried on. -
(1) Any person who detains 2[any other person, whether with or without his consent], -

1. in any brothel, or
2. in or upon any premises with intent 2[that such person may have sexual intercourse with a person who is not the spouse of such person]
shall be punishable 2[on conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine :
Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than seven years].

The act in PDF form: http://ncpcr.gov.in/Acts/Immoral_Tra...PA%29_1956.pdf

This year I heard of a woman who was out walking alone up Tushita Road. She was approached by a stranger who proceeded to smash her on the head with a rock. She bled profusely and got away. When she approached the police -still streaming with blood - they laughed at her and accused her of fighting with a boyfriend. According to rumor other virtually identical assaults on both men and women have occurred.

In the event of crime I suggest photographing all evidence that you can and contacting your embassy for support, after going to the police. Do not expect things to be handled as they would be in your country of origin and innocents may be victimized or accused of wrong doing. In the case of physical assault, if McLeod Ganj police are not of assistance, staff at Delek or Zonal hospital may be able to facilitate filing a police report.

The good news is that attacks like this are very rare in McLeod Ganj. I suggest securing windows and doors at night and especially if you go out, never leaving items unattended on balconies, and not walking alone on little traveled paths outside of town. Considering that India is a developing country with a huge population, it is truly remarkable how safe it is most of the time.

@Cardinal Divide: thank you for posting that link. was looking for long for this.

The act clearly states "in or upon any premises" so that would include private homes and rented apartments, but apparently not the great outdoors! Hopefully someone or an organization with the time and financial resources will challenge it. I've searched for amendments but haven't come across anything.

I am sorry to hear what happened to you, your boyfriend should have hit the crap out of him then & there.
And you should have approached the police .

Should have had some amount of islamic law to catch these fellas and snip..snip.. maybe .

What? What is a professional boyfriend? why only India doesnt other part of the world have a professional boyfriend ?

Again, this is a misplaced speculation ?

Nothing misplaced at all, I was simply asking a question of the poster to ensure that we had all the pertinent facts. Am I not allowed to ask question of a newbie first time poster?

Imo, there are light years of difference between men/boys entering a room occupied by total strangers/foreigners, men/boys entering a room when the female is well known to them, & then men/boys entering a room when the female is known to them & the male/boyfriend is an acquaintance or former acquaintance of the assailants.

This could be a totally random incident, there could be a stalker/rapist at large or there could be some previous undisclosed 'history' with the parties involved.

All very important information for couples &/or single women/ladies viewing this thread & planning to travel to this region in the near future!

I wonder why MissK has not disclosed the name of that Guest House.

Thank you for the replies that help shed light on this subject for other women.

I would really like to stop reliving that night (and will after this post), but since asked for clarification, here goes:

Yes, my boyfriend is local, but not Indian. He is a long-term, serious boyfriend I've known for years, not some fling and not some stranger. Relationships like this do exist.

No, neither of us had ever seen the attacker before, aside from earlier that day when he checked in and was standing outside of his room. He told the manager he was from Uttar Pradesh. I was hoping not to go into details, but the truth is that this was random violence and had absolutely nothing to do with "undisclosed history". I understand how that could be an easy answer for all of this, but it's simply not the case.

Before going to sleep that night, I put a towel on my balcony to dry. When the man ran out of the room after we woke up kicking and screaming, I saw that he had something over his head. And lo and behold, when he finally answered his door later on, my towel was inside his room. There were also clear footprints from the direction of his balcony onto my balcony and to the window he came in through. Didn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened.

I don't see the need to post the name of the guest house. Crime happens everywhere, and I believe the location is beside the point. I just wanted to send a message to my fellow women out there, a reality check or some knowledge that might help them or someone they know. I have been to India many times, and (naively) never believed something like this could happen to me.

It is never ok for a woman to be assaulted--no matter the circumstances, no matter what anyone speculates, period.

Didn't this man register with the desk clerk. Don't they have his name and address? And yes, you really should file a police report. This man needs to be caught.

A friend of mine was raped by a local villager while staying in a rented house in McLeod Ganj.
This was in 1989.
The villagers convinced her not to goto the police & let them handle it.
Apparently the guy had previous convictions for drug dealing & they were worried he'd be dealt w/harshly.
There was no question that he was the guilty party & she felt that the shame ov whatever punishment the village meted out was enough.

Even in the most shanti ov places bad things can happen.