Tourist, 51, Says She Was Gang-Raped in Delhi

The words "gang-rape" and "India" are once again making headlines, this time in connection with a 51-year-old Danish tourist in New Delhi. The woman says she was robbed and raped at knife-point between 5pm and 8pm last night, after asking for directions while returning to her hotel from the city's main shopping district. She says she was taken to an unpopulated spot near the city's rail station. The New York Times reports that seven or eight men were involved, and Bloomberg reports by way of a Delhi deputy police commissioner that eight suspects are to be arrested; 15 men had previously been detained, and apparently gave up information about the suspects, then were released. Raids are currently being conducted, and "we expect to have a breakthrough within the hour," says the police official.

The woman got back to her hotel at 8:30pm, and asked reception to call police. She flew home this morning on a pre-scheduled flight. It's the latest in a string of headline-grabbing sexual assaults in India. "The message being sent to the world is that if you are a woman, you shouldn't come to India alone," says the director of one women's advocacy group. "We're not doing enough to stop these attacks." (One woman, an Olympic boxer from India, is trying to make a difference.)