Police in New Delhi have detained 15 men in connection with the gang rape of a Danish tourist in a central part of India’s capital.
The 51-year-old woman was raped at knife-point by a group of men yesterday in Paharganj neighborhood, Deepak Mishra, special commissioner of the police, said.
The woman said she approached a group of men to ask for directions to her hotel. The woman, who was staying at a hotel near the capital’s railway station, told the police that the men took her to a location near the station and raped her.
The area is within 3km of the presidential palace and contains many hotels. “Police have identified the men involved in the crime and are conducting further investigation,” Mr Mishra added.
The case adds to safety concerns that have deterred women from visiting a nation where the number of reported rapes jumped 57 percent over the past decade.
Indian leaders have struggled to alter male attitudes that have left women vulnerable even after the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi in December 2012 triggered an international uproar.
“The message being sent to the world is that if you are a woman, you shouldn’t come to India alone,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of Centre for Social Research, a women’s advocacy group in New Delhi.
“It is a matter of great, great concern that this is happening, and we’re not doing enough to stop these attacks.”
Danish ambassador Freddy Svane confirmed that one of his country’s citizens was involved in a rape case.
The embassy in New Delhi had no further comments, he said.
A woman was raped in India every 21 minutes on average in 2012, according to the most recent National Crime Records Bureau data, statistics that police say reflect increased confidence among females to report attacks.
The country saw a 35 percent drop in foreign female tourist arrivals in the first three months of last year, according to a study published in April by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India.
Bloomberg