Mumbai gang rape of photojournalist evokes Delhi horror

The case of a photojournalist who was gang-raped in Mumbai has raised comparisons with a similar assault in New Delhi in December that led to nationwide protests and a revision of India's rape laws.

The attack on Thursday night triggered protests and an outcry on social media with many users shocked that it took place in Mumbai, widely considered to be India's safest city for women.

The attack took place in Lower Parel, a onetime textile-manufacturing neighbourhood of south Mumbai that over the past decade has changed dramatically. Today, upscale malls, trendy restaurants and super-luxury condominiums sit side-by-side with abandoned textile mills and sprawling slums.

Police said the woman was on assignment to take pictures of the neighbourhood when five men confronted her and her colleague. After initially offering to help her get permission to shoot inside a crumbling, isolated building, they became aggressive and accused the male colleague of being involved in a local crime.

When he denied involvement, they tied his hands with a belt and took the woman to another part of the compound and took turns raping her.