American national molested in Khar

A 28-year-old American national was assaulted and molested on the premises of her residence in Khar (west) by a drunken man on Saturday. The complainant approached the Khar police the same night and registered a FIR, after which the accused was traced, arrested and remanded to police custody.

According to the Khar police, the American national (Her identity has been withheld by the police) runs a NGO and has been staying in the city for six years now. The accused works as a domestic help in the vicinity. He is identified as one Radheshyam Rajput. The complainant lives in a posh society near Carter Road. In 2012, a Spanish national living near Carter Road was sodomised and raped by a burglar and his life sentence was upheld by high court this month.

The assault and molestation incident of the American woman occurred around 4 pm when she was waiting on the building premises because she was unable to open the lock to her door. She also called in the watchman to help her but even he couldn’t open the lock and hence she was waiting outside.

This is when the accused, Rajput, who was lurking in the area, went up to her and started misbehaving. The victim was listening to music when his errant behaviour distracted her. “He inappropriately touched her. When she retaliated he slapped her and ran away from the spot,” said a police official requesting anonymity. The accused was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

The American national raised an alarm and the watchman and other residents helped her out. A FIR has been registered under Section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. A woman sub-inspector took down the case and is investigating it. Rajput is in police custody.