Rape with UK woman: Chandigarh court holds Lalit Hotel’s ex-employee guilty

Ramkrishan Upadhyay  

Chandigarh, July 22  

A court in Chandigarh on Friday held 31-year-old former employee of Lalit Hotel at IT Park, Chandigarh, guilty of raping a 56-year-old British woman on December 20, 2018 at the hotel. 

Swati Sehgal, Special Judge, Fast Track Court, Chandigarh, will pronounce the quantum of the sentence on July 25, 2022.

The police had arrested Farhanuzza Zama, a resident of Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, on the complaint of a British woman on December 31, 2018, after registering a case against him under Section 376 of IPC. The accused was working as a hairstylist-cum-therapist at the hotel. 

In her complaint filed before the police, the woman alleged that on December 20, 2018, when she was sitting in front of the swimming pool with her boyfriend at around 10.45am, the employee came and offered them a head and foot massage. She initially declined his offer but when he insisted she agreed. She said that when the accused touched her inappropriately above the knee while massaging she objected to it but he told her that he was checking the pressure points. She alleged that then the accused sexually assaulted her.

She said she submitted a complaint to the hotel staff after which the hotel management terminated his services. She claimed the hotel management promised her that appropriate action would be taken against the accused. The woman then went to Shimla and returned to the hotel on December 27, 2018. When she found that no police complaint was filed against the accused, she herself approached the police and lodged a complaint with the police at the IT Park police station following which a case of rape was registered against the accused.

After completing the investigation, the police filed the challan against the accused and charges were framed against him under Section 376 of IPC to which the accused pleaded not  guilty. While the counsel for the accused claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case, the public prosecutor said that prosecution has proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt. The prosecution examined 12 witnesses, including the hotel staff. 

The complainant joined the trial by video conferencing from UK. After hearing the arguments, the court held the accused guilty of the offence punishable under Section 376 of the IPC.