Hotel employee attempts to rape fashion designer

The incident took place on October 8 when the victim, a Bangalore resident who had come to the Delhi to visit the ongoing fashion week, was attacked by an attendant inside her room

Hotel employee attempts to rape fashion designer

The incident took place on October 8 when the victim, a Bangalore resident who had come to the Delhi to visit the ongoing fashion week, was attacked by an attendant inside her room

It's not just Delhi's roads that are unsafe for women. A room attendant at a three-star hotel in south Delhi allegedly assaulted and attempted to rape a 24-year-old fashion designer from Bangalore, who had come to the Capital to meet her close friends and attend the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, in her room.

Trouble spot:u00a0Hotel Justa The Residence in south Delhi where the
incident occurred. Pic/Rajeev Tyagi

The victim, Neha (name changed) somehow escaped the clutches of the accused and called the police. The room attendant was arrested from the spot and an FIR under section 376/511 (attempt to rape) was lodged against him at Malviya Nagar police station of south Delhi.

Representative pic

Unsafe in Delhi
A senior police official close to the investigation said on the condition of anonymity that the incident took place at Hotel Justa The Residence that is situated in Panchsheel area. "The room attendant has been identified as Ajay Kumar. He had been working in the hotel for the past three years. According to the victim, on October 8, the accused came to her room on the pretext of room service. Finding her alone he assaulted her.

The victim was pushed onto the bed; the accused tried to remove her clothes. Neha tried to defend herself and a scuffle broke out between them. She somehow escaped from his clutches and managed to call PCR," said the police.

The official said that the room attendant was handed over to the police by the hotel staff who had gathered at the spot hearing the commotion. The victim gave her written statement to the cops against Ajay Kumar. The police official said that the victim left for her hometown a day after the incident. DCP (south) Chhaya Sharma was unavailable for comments.

'Matter of shame'
The fashion fraternity is naturally outraged. Sunil Sethi, president, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) said, "It's a matter of shame. If there is one thing I want to change about the city, I want to change the attitude of men towards women."

"The situation in Delhi has always been scary. This incident does not have anything to do with her being a designer. One has to ensure you are with the right people at the right place at all times. Stay alert," said fashion designer Chandrani Singh Fllora. "No woman is safe in the city. The government needs to do something about it.u00a0 They should not just fall back on excuses," said Nida Mehmood.

-With inputs from Promita Mukherjee

The other side
This reporter called up Naveen Vishen, the hotel manger, who refused to confirm the incident. "If you expect more details, they are not going to come from me," he said.