The Korean student was on her way to a favorite location ― the Jagannath Ghat flower market on the banks of the Hooghly ― when she was attacked, The Times of India reported. She and her friends traveled on a minibus.
"I was the last in our group to board the bus. A gang of about 15 youths had queued up behind us. One of them groped me while I was stepping on to the floorboard. I was shocked and dazed for a few seconds," she was quoted as saying.
She then turned around to challenge the molester. Rather than relenting, he and his friends ― all of them ― surrounded the girl and her companions, threatening and abusing them, the Times reported.
"We were outnumbered and this emboldened the youths to go on harassing us. They were using filthy words. The bus conductor, too, did not dare challenge them. We felt so helpless," said the victimized student.
The bus proceeded on and the taunts continued for nearly an hour. The first policeman the student saw was on Strand Road near the eastern slope of the Howrah Bridge. She jumped from the bus when it slowed to pick up passengers and ran to the police officer who rounded up the offenders within minutes.
This is the third time in just 10 days a foreign woman has been the victim of sexual abuse in India ― a Swiss tourist was gang-raped near Gwalior on March 16 and a British woman jumped from her hotel balcony in Agra to escape an attempted rape on March 19.