British woman allegedly raped in Delhi hotel by man she met on Instagram; two arrested

New Delhi: A British woman was allegedly raped and molested by two men at a hotel in Delhi's Mahipalpur area, a police official said on Thursday. Police have arrested both men and informed the British High Commission about the incident that happened on Tuesday night. The British national came to India a month ago and stayed in Maharashtra for some time, before travelling to Goa. On Tuesday, she came to Delhi allegedly to meet the 24-year-old Kailash who had befriended her on Instagram recently, a senior official said.

She was allegedly first molested by a housekeeping staff in the hotel's lift. Later, she met Kailash who allegedly raped her in a hotel room, he said. "Separate cases have been registered in both matters. They are not related to each other," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Surendra Chaudhary said. She visited a hospital on Wednesday and police were then informed about the incident, a police officer said. The woman first spoke to the accused on a social media platform a month and a half earlier and after that, they talked frequently, he said.

According to police, Kailash, a resident of east Delhi, struggled to speak English and used some translation application to communicate with her. When the woman came to India, she and Kailash made plans to meet each other in Delhi, the officer said. The victim travelled from Goa to Delhi and booked a room in a hotel in Mahipalpur. When Kailash came to meet her, she alleged that he raped her, the officer added. Police teams are checking CCTV footage of the hotel to know the sequence of the events. A special team, led by an ACP and under the overall supervision of the DCP, has been formed to probe the case. Police have seized the accused's phone and will check if he has contacted any other women on social media.