Police in the Indian city of Kolkata have arrested a local businessman, Sujoy Mitra, who is suspected of drugging and raping a 21-year-old Irish charity worker after her birthday party

Officer Subrata Dey said, “We suspect the accused laced the tea with drugs and raped the Irish woman.” The Irish woman called the police and explained that she had been assaulted while in a semi-conscious state having drank a cup of tea at the 35-year-old suspect’s home in Kolkata (Calcuta), in the west Bengal region in the north-east of the country. The victim, an engineering student who came to India to volunteer with a charity, has been sent to a state-run hospital for medical attention. The young woman and her attacker met each other at a busy market. They decided to party together to celebrate the Irish woman’s birthday. The Press Association reported that 35-year-old Sujoy Mitra had been accused of the attack and was remanded in custody. Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to the woman. Diplomatic staff were notified and officials from the Irish embassy in New Delhi are dealing with her case. This attack is one of many in what’s being described as endemic sex crime. A survey by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India shows that the number of foreign women visiting India has dropped by 35% due to the multiple sexual attacks that have been making international headlines. The group says that these numbers began to fall following the brutal attack of a 23-year-old Indian student by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012. The attack which led to the woman’s death brought about international protests against violent sexual crime in India. In March 2013 a Swiss cyclist was gang raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. In January 2013 a Korean tourist was drugged and raped in the same state by the son of the owner of the hotel where she was staying. The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised women going to India to exercise caution. Their website says that women should not travel alone and should select accommodation carefully. It says that tourists have been the victims of sexual assault in Agra, Goa, Delhi, Bangalore, Madyha Pradesh and Rajasthan. Female travelers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment.