Noida businesswoman files lawsuit against Madrid's Hilton Hotel in robbery case

IANS

Noida, February 9

An Indian woman has filed a lawsuit against leading hotel chain, Hilton Hotels, after she was allegedly robbed in its hotel in Madrid, Spain, where she stayed for business purposes.

Jasmeet Kaur, CEO of KBI Industries and a resident of Noida, filed the lawsuit in the Court of Plaza de Castilla, Spain.

Kaur shared her ordeal on social media and alleged that the robbers assaulted her and stole her belongings on January 27.

She said that the matter of women's safety in luxury hotels is a matter of international concern.

Kaur stated: "Hilton hotel put my security in danger. No action was taken against the culprits." She has demanded compensation for the mental trauma and pain caused by the incident.

In her complaint to the authorities in India, she said: "Nobody helped me in that hour of crisis." The victim blamed the hotel officials and the Indian Embassy in Spain for ignoring her complaints.

She added that she was stuck in a foreign land with no money and no action was taken against the culprits despite registering an FIR in the nearest police station in Madrid.

Kaur added that she is in contact with a lawyer in Spain who is helping her with the case.

She said: "The miscreants hit me, pushed me down and took my bag inside the lobby area of the hotel. The hotel authorities did not help me. I lost all important items. Everything including my passport was stolen."  Citing the financial loss due to the loss of her passport, she said: "I am facing huge financial loss. Travel has come to a standstill for my business related work. Most of my international appointments had to be cancelled." She said that the work of more than 200 employees in her firm was getting affected as she was unable to travel by air internationally.

Kaur alleged that she has been losing crores of rupees due to the hotel's serious lapse in security.

She has written to the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of External Affairs about the mental trauma, agony and humiliation that she has been subjected to in Spain.

In the lawsuit, she mentioned that the hotel had no security arrangements.

She added: "I had paid a huge amount for my stay as per the request of the hotel management. This could have been avoided if the hotel staff and management had acted swiftly."  Kaur said: "Women are not safe anywhere in the world. I humbly request the External Affairs Minister of India Dr Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and other officials to please help me in this situation.

"I will also convey this security concern to the United Nations and other organs of the UN dealing with women's safety in the world. I will also write to UN officials, including the UN Secretary-General and other top UN envoys in India."  

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