Suspects Arrested in New Delhi Gang Rape

Indian police arrested two men in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 51-year-old Danish tourist. The suspects appeared in court on Thursday, with a judge ordering them into police custody for three days for further investigation. Officials are also looking into a group of six homeless men who took part in the nearly three-hour attack in which they allegedly assaulted and robbed the woman.

The two arrested men were found at a nearby train station. Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for the Delhi Police, told the Wall Street Journal they were part of a group of eight involved on Tuesday. They were described as "vagabonds," and mostly young men.

When the alleged attack occurred, the tourist was trying to get back to her hotel, located near a popular shopping center in the Indian capital. She says she asked a group of men for directions before they took her to an isolated area and attacked her at knifepoint before gang-raping her. The victim lost her iPod, eyeglasses case, and money, all of which was retrieved from the men they detained.

"We're not taking this lightly," Bhagat said. "Our best men are on the job."

Deputy Police Commissioner Alok Kumar also said there are checkpoints set up across the city and police are conducting raids to investigate the case. The woman, who left India on Wednesday to return to Denmark, told police she would come back to the country to testify in court. She declined a medical examination.

The alleged incident follows a long series of attacks on women and children in India. In 2012, a 23-year-old woman died after a brutal gang-rape on a private bus. Protesters took to the streets following the death of a teenage girl who was raped twice and set on fire by a group of men.

Delhi had the largest numbers of rape reported in India in 2012, followed by Mumbai. Latest government statistics showed 24,923 cases in the country.

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