Rape case: Woman booked for extortion

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 22

A 31-year-old IT professional has been arrested by the police for allegedly extorting money from hotel employees by lodging false cases of rape and theft against them.

Nunhar has lodged a complaint with the Civil Lines police that she was raped by Varundeep Singh, manager of a hotel on Queenz Road here. She had checked in in the hotel on Saturday. She alleged that the accused made physical relations with her without her consent after making her unconscious. She further alleged that the accused stole Rs 35,000 from her room.

Following her complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 376 and 380 against Varundeep. However, during the probe, the drama started unfolding and she was later booked on the charges of extortion. She has been sent to judicial remand and a further probe is on.

Nunhar had earlier, too, registered a similar case against a contractual employee of Taj hotel at Chandigarh on May16. However, she had refused to undergo a medical examination and had later left for Delhi. From Delhi, she arrived at Amritsar on May 18, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, city-II, Gautam Singhal.

He said by that time, all hotels in the state were alerted. She went to a reputed hotel chain on airport road, which refused to give her a room after checking her credentials. She later successfully tried her luck in another reputed hotel chain in the Ranjit Avenue area. She managed to get a three-day booking.

However, after checking in, the hotel management also came to know about her. Wisely, they deputed women staff for her service. This annoyed her and she left the hotel before the booking period and tried to get a room in other reputed hotels, but nobody obliged her.

Singhal said later Nunhar got a room booked in a hotel on Queenz Road through online services. Here she befriended Varundeep and later made physical relations with him. Yesterday, she lodged a complaint with the police.

The ADCP said a case under Section 384, IPC, had been registered against her while the case against Varundeep had been cancelled. He said the police was now trying to find out whether she was alone or had any accomplices. She had been changing her statements. The police was also trying to contact her family members.