A 51-year-old Danish woman was robbed and raped by eight men near the New Delhi railway station, police said Wednesday.
The woman, who came to India Jan 1, had gone to visit a museum Tuesday morning but lost her way to her hotel in Paharganj, a tourist hub in the heart of Delhi.
Around 4 p.m., a group of men lured her to an isolated spot where she was robbed of her iPad and cash and then raped by eight men, one of who had a knife, police said.
In her police complaint, the woman said the men also hit and slapped her.
She was kept hostage for more than three hours and managed to reach her hotel around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
A police officer told IANS that the woman was "highly traumatised" when she reached the police station.
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"She was bruised on her face and neck. The manager of her hotel called the police around 9.30 p.m.
"Around 30 people have been detained for questioning. They are all vagabonds," the officer said.
Police said the woman had refused to undergo medical examination. On the basis of her statement, a case of rape and robbery was registered at Paharganj police station.
Police said the woman was taken by the alleged rapists to the Divisional Railway Officers Club near the New Delhi Railway Station.
A club employee told IANS a tent was being removed at the time of rape reported by the victim to police.
"The Lohri festival was celebrated last night (Tuesday). Labourers were working inside the premises. It is difficult to believe that a group of people took the woman inside and raped her," the employee said.
He said the woman was probably confused about the incident spot.
The Danish embassy has been informed and the woman was expected to leave for home on Wednesday.
Police said the woman - who had returned to Delhi Monday after visiting Agra - has said she will return to India to depose if needed.
This is the second such incident reported to the Delhi Police within a fortnight.
A 33-year-old Polish woman was allegedly raped by a cab driver and abandoned near the Nizamuddin railway station Jan 3. The woman was reportedly offered a when she was on her way to Delhi with her two year-old-daughter from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, police said.
The woman, a Lord Krishna devotee, said she was raped by the driver on the Mathura-Delhi highway.
The driver reportedly "sprayed something" on her face that made her lose consciousness. She realised she was assaulted sexually when she found herself on a bench outside the Nizamuddin Railway Station in south Delhi, with her daughter crying beside her.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he met the Lt. Governor Wednesday and spoke to him about a discussion with the police commissioner as to why rape cases were increasing in Delhi.
"We will hold a meeting with the Delhi police commissioner next week. He will be asked to come up with answers why the number of rapes has increased in Delhi. It needs to be analysed," Kejriwal said.