While incidents of Indians being allegedly harassed or abused in Australia keep appearing in the news intermittently, here's the story of a tailor who tried to get too friendly with a woman from Down Under in the Capital. The 28-year-old Australian national has alleged that she was molested by the accused, after he offered her a lift in his car, in upmarket Tilak Marg area on Monday.
Te wrong 'cut': Ravi Chawla, the accused, owns this tailoring shop on
Mandir Marg in New Delhi. Pic/Subhash Barolia
According to the sources, the victim (identity withheld on request) had come with her husband to India on March 19 to visit the country. They had gone to the tailoring shop of the accused Ravi Chawla, after he was recommended to them by their hotel Ramada Plaza in Delhi.
"My husband and I had gone to the tailor's shop at Mandir Marg on March 21. He even invited us to dinner. However, when Ravi was dropping me back at my hotel he molested me," the complainant said.
Meanwhile, a senior police official said that the husband and wife are both software engineers in Australia and they returned to their home country the same day. They had first met Ravi on March 21 in the lobby of their hotel. Ravi befriended them and they spent the whole day together. In the evening Ravi invited them to dinner. He took them to a restaurant on Pandara Road.
"During the meal I started feeling tired and wanted to return to the hotel. My husband, who was staying back, wanted to hire a taxi for me. But Ravi offered me a lift in his car. On the way he asked me if he could feel my legs. I objected but he did so anyway, at least six to seven times. I was feeling uncomfortable and asked him to take me back to my husband. Ravi said that he did not know the way back to the restaurant and at this point he rammed his car into a bike. After half an hour he finally brought me back to the restaurant. I jumped off the moving car as I was frightened.
At the restaurant I learnt that my husband had gone back to the hotel. I hired a taxi with the help of the restaurant owner and somehow returned to the hotel," the victim has said in her statement to the police. MiD DAY has a copy of the document. The police said that Ravi warned her not to tell her husband anything, but the victim called the police after reaching the hotel. A case of molestation under section 354 was registered at the Tilak Marg police station against Ravi Chawla who has been arrested.
Help on the go
Speaking with MiD DAY, Jt Commissioner of Police Deepak Mishra said that police have deployed ten PCR vans at different locations in the national capital to help tourists. Police personnel who are attached with these PCR vans are conversant with English.
585 Molestation cases were reported in the Capital in 2010
489
Number of rape cases registered by Delhi police last year
Past matters
* A Swiss diplomat was raped in the parking lot of Siri Fort on October 14, 2003. The case was later transferred to crime branch but even after several years of investigations, the crime branch filed a closure report last year saying that there were no suspects in the case.
* In March 2004, a 59-year-old Australian tourist, Dawn Griggs was murdered and her body was later found near Indira Gandhi International Airport. Autopsy report revealed that she was gagged, strangled and stabbed to death by the driver of the taxi she was travelling in.
Straight talk
Sadriya khadoberdeavaTajik national working in Delhi
On one occasion while returning home from office at night, two cops stopped me and my friend and started misbehaving with us for no particular reason. They then demanded money to let us go.
Asriya marodmamadovaTourist from Kazakhstan
One day at Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place, a guy forcibly tried to sell his wares to me. When I refused he got angry and started following me wherever I went. I was able to get out of that situation after some trouble.
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