A man has been arrested on the charge of raping a 36-year-old British woman who had come to Delhi to meet him after befriending him on Instagram.

A second man has been arrested on the charge of molesting the woman when she turned to him for help after the alleged rape in a hotel room.

Rape accused Kailash, an east Delhi resident in his 30s, had been working with a private firm for the past two years, police said on Thursday. Wasim, who allegedly molested the woman in the hotel lift, is a member of the hotel’s housekeeping staff.

The alleged crimes took place on Tuesday in Mahipalpur, the same locality where a brutal gang rape inside a moving bus 12 years ago had led to sweeping reforms in sex-crime laws.

Delhi remains one of the most unsafe cities for women in the country, recording an average three rapes daily, an official of the National Crime Records Bureau said.

The complainant, a London resident, had landed in Goa in the first week of March and arrived in Delhi on Tuesday to meet Kailash, police sources said.

“They (the woman and Kailash) had become friends on Instagram around a month ago. He used to make reels on social media platforms,” an
officer said.

“From Goa, she had contacted Kailash and invited him to meet her. But Kailash expressed his inability to travel and instead asked her to
visit Delhi.”

After arriving in Delhi, the woman booked a hotel room in Mahipalpur, close to the airport, and the accused arrived to meet her.

The woman has said that an argument broke out when she felt he was behaving inappropriately towards her.

She said that after the rape, she managed to reach the hotel reception and raised the alarm. A man offered help but allegedly molested her
in the lift.

The next morning, the woman registered a complaint with Vasant Kunj police station. In keeping with protocol, the police informed the British high
commission.

The woman has told the police that Kailash struggled to speak English and used Google Translate to communicate with her on social media, an officer said.

“A case of rape and molestation has been registered and both accused have been arrested,” an officer said.

Last week, two women, including a tourist from Israel, were allegedly raped by three men in Koppal district of Karnataka. A male friend of the women drowned after being pushed into the Tungabhadra river canal by the accused. All three have been arrested.

Karnataka police have said the Israeli woman was in deep shock and chose to travel back to her country.