19-year-old guest house manager gets 2 years in jail for molesting Peruvian woman

A guest house manager in Mumbai has been sentenced to two years imprisonment for molesting a Peruvian woman. The accused entered her room to take a selfie with her and touched her inappropriately. The trial was completed in two months and the court refused to grant any leniency, citing the reputation of the country.

Mumbai: In a speedy trial, a metropolitan magistrate court has sentenced a guest house manager to two years imprisonment for molesting a Peruvian woman on March 27. The accused – identified as Riyaz Ahmed Raju Ahmed, 19 – was working at Welcome Guest House in Byculla East.

“The informant has deposed that it is very difficult for a woman like her to travel in India alone. The accused came with bad intentions. He never knocked on the door of her room. He came to the room only to touch her. Now she is afraid to travel to India. If he is given benefit under section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, then a wrong message will be sent throughout the world,” the court added. (Getty Images)

“The accused entered the hotel room of the woman to take a selfie with her and touched her inappropriately. After this, she consulted a friend and reported the incident to us. We picked him up while he was trying to flee to his hometown – Uttar Pradesh,” Ashok Khot, senior police inspector of Byculla Police Station, said.

He added that the statements of the witness and the victim were recorded within 24 hours as they had to leave the country and a chargesheet was immediately filed against the accused.

“Our team faced several problems in understanding the sequence of events and recording statements of the woman, as the witness and the 38-year-old woman only spoke Spanish and therefore we had to seek help from translators and Google Translator to record their statements,” Khot added.

“The Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Mazgoan completed the trial in barely two months and sentenced Riyaz to two years imprisonment and a fine of ₹5,000,” Khot added.

A case was registered against the accused for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.

The court refused to grant any leniency observing that the reputation of the country is at stake. “The informant has deposed that it is very difficult for a woman like her to travel in India alone. The accused came with bad intentions. He never knocked on the door of her room. He came to the room only to touch her. Now she is afraid to travel to India. If he is given benefit under section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, then a wrong message will be sent throughout the world,” the court added.