Chennai: A 21-year-old Russia woman who had arrived at the temple town of Tiruvannamalai on July 12, about 194 km from here, was allegedly gang-raped by three persons.

The Russian national was found unconscious in her room at a private guesthouse on Monday and has been admitted to the hospital. The Tiruvannamalai town police later shifted her to the government hospital where she has now regained consciousness.

The victim, who is in India as a tourist, had rented a room at a guesthouse for a tariff of `200 per day. She is said to have hired a two-wheeler for sightseeing. According to police sources, the finger of suspicion also points at the person, who runs the guesthouse, besides two others who had allegedly molested and attempted to rape her.

Police inquiries revealed that she was sexually assaulted. It is not clear on whether she became unconscious in her room and the injuries she sustained were minor, said police, who have sought the assistance of woman fluent in Russian language, to assist them in obtaining victim’s version. Particulars of the Russian woman’s visit to India and details on the attack would be known once results of lab tests and police inquiry is over.

The incident has sent shock waves across Tiruvannamalai district. Media reports indicated that she was on a visit to learn about meditation and people’s spiritual quest especially in performing the ‘girivalam.’ Earlier in April this year, a Latvian woman Liga Skromane, 33, was murdered following an alleged sexual assault attempt near Kovalam in Kerala.