Agra:
A British tourist jumped from her hotel room in Agra today, allegedly to avoid being molested by the owner of the hotel early this morning.
The 30-year-old jumped from the balcony on the first floor of the Agra Mahal Hotel and was taken to a hospital with leg injuries. She has been moved to another hotel now; tomorrow she will be brought to Delhi.
The hotel owner, Sachin Chauhan, has been arrested, and the ministry of Tourism has cancelled the hotel's license. (
Read: Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi seeks safety of tourists) Police have also sealed the hotel. "Earlier we had pressed charges of assault, now we have also added the charge of attempt to rape... the hotel is being sealed," said Ashutosh Pandey, Inspector General Agra Range.
The UK Embassy is in touch with the victim and has offered her counsular access and assistance.
Agra SSP Subhash Chand Dubey said that the woman had earlier rejected the hotel owner's overtures offering a massage. He allegedly then returned to her room at 4 am under the pretext of the morning wake up call, then returned around 4:40am and refused to leave. He kept knocking at her door and according to the British tourist he was accompanied by a security guard. When he refused to leave, she felt she was left with no option but to escape from the balcony.
The woman had checked into the hotel a day before.
The hotel owner claims the tourist had asked to be woken up for an early morning train, which is why he went to her room.
Just this morning, the UK revised its advisory to its citizens travelling to India, citing the recent gang-rape in Madhya Pradesh of a Swiss tourist who was on a cycling tour with her husband. Six men have been arrested for the assault.
"Women should use caution when travelling in India. Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk. A Swiss national suffered a serious sexual attack in Madhya Pradesh on 16 March. Women travellers should exercise caution when travelling in India even if they are travelling in a group," the advisory said.
In Karnataka, five men have been arrested for harassing a Norwegian woman who was travelling on a bus.
(Read)The anaemic security for women in India has been a national concern since the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi in December.
The assault triggered massive protests and calls for better policing.
In response, the government has brought a new proposal to Parliament that provides for the death penalty in extreme cases of rape. It has also made voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the trafficking of women punishable under criminal law.