36-year-old British tourist raped in Delhi hotel by Instagram ‘friend’

The woman, who lives in London with her family, told police she arrived in India on March 7 and spent four days in Goa with friends

A 36-year-old UK national was allegedly sexually assaulted by a man she met on Instagram at a hotel in Delhi’s Mahipalpur area, where a staffer also allegedly molested her during the ordeal, police said on Thursday, citing the woman’s complaint.

Wasim was arrested first, but Gautam was apprehended about two hours later as he was frequently changing his location, a police officer said. (Representational image)

Delhi Police arrested both men, invoking charges of rape and molestation under the Bharatiya Nayay Sanhita.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Surendra Chaudhary confirmed the incident happened but refrained from sharing more details.

A senior police officer said the accused were identified as Kailash Gautam, 26, a resident of east Delhi’s Gharoli, and Mohammed Gulfam, 27, a housekeeping staffer at the hotel. “A case was registered on her complaint and the accused were arrested within two hours after the matter was reported,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.

The woman, who lives in London with her family, told police she arrived in India on March 7 and spent four days in Goa with friends. On March 11, she travelled to Delhi to meet Gautam, whom she knew as “Veer” from their recent Instagram friendship.

According to her complaint, Gautam picked her up from the airport, after which they checked into a Mahipalpur hotel around 11am.

The woman alleged that once in the room, Gautam consumed significant amounts of alcohol and began misbehaving with her despite her resistance. She said she drank wine to manage her anxiety, after which Gautam allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times.

When she attempted to leave the room, Gautam followed her. Hotel staff at the reception allegedly misinterpreted the situation, believing the woman was simply drunk, and allowed Gautam to escort her back, police said.

It is then that Gulfam, the housekeeping staffer sent to assist, inappropriately touched her in the lift. She shouted at him, causing him to retreat, the officer said.

Back in the room, Gautam allegedly assaulted her again before leaving the hotel around 11pm, according to investigators familiar with the case.

Early the next morning, the woman left the hotel and took a taxi to the nearest hospital due to severe pain. The hospital doctor she consulted informed the police after learning about the assault.

“Gulfam was arrested first, but Gautam was apprehended about two hours later as he was frequently changing his location. He might have anticipated that the woman would lodge a complaint,” a police officer involved in the investigation said.

The officer added that Gautam was unemployed and had completed Class 12. “He did not know how to speak English with the woman. He was using an online translator to chat with her on Instagram,” the officer said.

Police said they provided counselling to the woman. Both accused were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to judicial custody.

Officials said the high commission was informed about the incident but did not share if she was still in Delhi.