A photo journalist in her early 20s was gang-raped in the Indian city of Mumbai, police said on Friday (August 23), evoking comparisons to a similar assault in New Delhi in December that led to nationwide protests and a revision of the country's rape laws.

The attack on Thursday (August 22) evening caused an outcry on social media, with many users shocked that it took place in Mumbai, widely considered to be India's safest city for women.

The woman was admitted to hospital in south Mumbai, police said.

The attack took place in an abandoned textile mill in Lower Parel, a former industrial district that is now one of the city's fastest-growing neighbourhoods of luxury apartments, malls and bars. The woman was out on assignment with a male colleague.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said the victim and her colleague were attacked while they were taking photographs.

Women's safety in India has been in the spotlight this year following the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in December, which led thousands of Indians to take to the streets in protest. The woman died of her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Presented by Adam Justice

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