Birthday party guests run amok, molest singer, sister after drinking
Times of India | 5 September 2024
Kolkata: Two men, one of them a Delhi-born NRI settled in Italy, were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly molesting and misbehaving with a 38-year-old singer, her sister and a friend at a birthday party the night before at a five-star hotel on EM Bypass.
The incident was reported between 11.30 pm and 11.50 pm on Tuesday and the FIR was registered early on Wednesday.Accused Arun Kumar (60), a resident of Pitampura in Delhi who now lived in Italy, and Rinku Gupta (43), a resident of Bowbazar, were produced in court, and police sought their custody. Police claimed they received full cooperation from the authorities of ITC Royal though the survivor alleged the officials at the hotel had initially asked the two accused to pay and leave. Police had arrived by then and the two were detained. After arrest, the two were booked under BNS sections 74, 351 (2) and 54.
“We, a group of six, went to the hotel for a friend’s birthday party. A small, private music performance was being held. Suddenly, a man, clearly drunk, started dancing with a friend, something we found very inappropriate. I moved my friend away. At that time, the man started behaving badly with the woman, who was singing. Then, the man moved towards another woman, and tried to force her to dance with him. When we protested, he said, ‘Do you know who I am?’ He touched me inappropriately and threatened me,” said the singer, a finalist in a reality show. Despite repeated objections, the men reportedly did not stop, prompting the women to inform the hotel security about it. Pragati Maidan police station was also notified.
The complainant informed the police that they requested CCTV footage from the hotel authorities. But before police arrived, the hotel security allegedly asked the two accused to settle their bill and leave. However, cops had arrived by then, started their investigation and detained the accused from the hotel. But police said they found no fault with the hotel authorities, stating they did everything to help the probe. A hotel spokesperson said, “All support has been extended to the relevant authorities.”
Police said the ITC Royal authorities provided them the details of the accused and also crucial CCTV images. The two accused were arrested when they could not provide satisfactory answers to cops’ questions.
Confirming the incident, additional CP (I) Murlidhar Sharma said, “The woman, who had performed well in a reality show, along with her husband, also a singer, said they were at Sky Point Bar & Restaurant at ITC Royal for a special occasion. Her family members were also present. Around 11:50 pm, the accused persons asked the survivor to dance with them and made some objectionable comments. The accused allegedly outraged the modesty of the complainant and her sister, touched them in an objectionable way and even threatened them when they protested.”