Woman journalist gang raped in Mumbai

NEW DELHI - The Associated Press

Policemen stand at the entrance gate to the city hospital where a gang rape victim is admitted, in Mumbai early morning on August 23, 2013. Five men gang-raped a woman photographer in India's financial hub Mumbai, police said August 23, stirring memories of a similar incident eight months ago in New Delhi which triggered nationwide protests. AFP PHOTO/Indranil MUKHERJEE

Police say a young woman photojournalist has been gang raped while her male colleague was tied up and beaten in India's business hub of Mumbai. The case was reminiscent of the December gang rape of a young university student in the Indian capital.

Police said the woman was on assignment to take pictures of an abandoned textile factory in south Mumbai late Thursday when five men confronted her, and offered to help her get permission to shoot inside the building. Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh told reporters that the men tied her colleague's hands with a belt while she was gang raped. The woman, reported to be in her early 20s, is in stable condition in hospital.

The assault comes amid heightened concerns about sexual violence in India.