Hotel staffer arrested for molesting lady colleague

New Delhi: In yet another case of crime against women in the Capital, a 33-year-old woman, working with a five-star hotel in Aerocity area, complained of molestation by the security officer inside the hotel premises. A video footage in the public domain reveals the accused dragging the and attempting to disrobe her. The victim, who approached the police after the incident, has claimed regular harassment by the accused. The police, acting on her complaint, has registered a case against the accused hotel staff and have arrested him. The hotel management has also initiated action against the accused molester announcing full support in the ongoing police investigation.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Sanjay Bhatia stated that the accused was identified as Pawan Kumar (44) who works as a security manager at a hotel in Delhi's Aerocity. He was arrested on Friday and later got bail. "We are investigating the case from all possible angles," said Bhatia. Police have lodged a case under section 354, 354 (a), 354(b) and 354 (d) and have roped in forensic teams to examine the footage.

According to police, the incident took place on July 29 which took place inside a hotel room equipped with CCTV where the whole incident was recorded. In the CCTV footage, it can be seen that the woman is having a conversation with the accused who later tries to disrobe her front of another male colleague. After some time another person left the room.

In a complaint to the police, the woman stated that incident took place on her birthday. Dahiya called her to the CCTV room in the hotel and asked her that if she wanted any gift but she refused. The accused then kept insisting that she take a gift from him and then asked her to sit. When the woman refused to comply Dahiya tugged at her saree in a bid to disrobe her. "I was scared, in the meantime, another colleague entered the room and seeing the opportunity I fled the spot. After half an hour I left the hotel but was followed by the accused in his car who pulled down the glass window and grabbed me by the hand and kept insisting that I should get inside his car," said the woman in her complaint. The woman further claimed that from last few years Dahiya was constantly pressuring her to get into a physical relationship.

The woman told the police that she complained to the hotel HR, but was sacked. However, a spokesperson of the hotel told Millennium Post claimed that she was never fired. "She has stopped reporting to duty for the last three-four days," the spokesperson said, adding that the accused security manager was suspended the day after the woman filed a police complaint.

According to police after the woman lodged a complaint, a case was registered and her version was being cross-checked. She also submitted some CCTV footage. Police are also trying to ascertain from the footage what the woman was saying to the accused. Police sources claimed that the accused denied the allegations levelled by the woman during the investigation.