Two young women were allegedly raped by an unidentified person in the national capital, a senior police official said Sunday.

"The incident happened last week when the unidentified accused approached the two victims hailing from the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. The accused then assured the two women of getting their train tickets to their home state confirmed and gave them sedative-laced drinks," he said, on condition of anonymity.

When the two women became unconscious after drinking the beverages, the accused raped them at two separate places in the national capital, the official said, adding that a medical examination on the victims confirmed sexual assault.

A manhunt has been launched to track down the alleged rapist, he added.

Rapes are increasing in India, despite the government introducing stricter laws to punish sexual offenders last year, in the wake of the brutal and fatal gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student by six men on a moving bus in the national capital in December 2012.