Two foreign nationals from the United States and Russian were allegedly sexually abused by their landlord’s son in the wee hours of Monday when they were sleeping in their room in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas area.
Based on one of the victim’s statement, the accused was arrested from his home in Shahapur Jat and sent to 14-day judicial custody by a city court. The 33-year-old accused, Rajiv Panwar, is the nephew of former Mayor of Delhi, Jayashree Panwar.
Police said that the incident came to light around 4.40 am on Monday when the victims made a call to the police control room. The victims have been living in the rented accommodation for the past six months. “One of the victims, a US national, told the police that she, along with her husband, had returned home late on Sunday night and the electricity went off. They were asleep in their room while her roommate, an Russian national, was sleeping in the other room,” a senior police officer said.
The victim said around 3.50 am, Rajiv walked into the room and sexually assaulted her. “Initially, the victim did not realise it, but suddenly, she woke up to find the accused next to her. She immediately raised an alarm following which her husband woke up and ran after the accused,” the officer added.
The victim claimed that Rajiv had sexually assaulted her roommate too, who was asleep in the next room. After informing the police about the incident, they lodged a complaint with the Hauz Khas Police station and based on the victim’s statement, a case was registered under Section 376 (rape) and 452 (house trespass).