Bail for Luke,hotel CCTV footage shows four others

Footage from the CCTV feed,accessed by The Sunday Express,reveals that there were several characters,other than the trio,on the scene.

According to police sources,Zohal and Sahil were first accompanied to their room by Luke and Sahil’s friend identified as one Moiz. The footage shows them in the corridor outside the room at 5.11 am. The four wait outside the room for four minutes after which another person,identified as Miraj,opens the door from inside.

It appears from the footage that Luke had been invited in as a friend. Zohal alleged that once inside the room,he molested her and punched Sahil. It is not clear what Moiz or Miraj were doing at the time of the alleged incident.

Police say Miraj,a friend of Sahil,flew to Mumbai this morning. The whereabouts of Moiz remained unclear.

In the footage,Zohal is later seen running out of the room — police said that was the time she tried to contact the hotel security. Luke too is seen emerging from the room.

At 6.15 am,Luke is seen returning to the room,his right hand bandaged. This time,there are two unidentified persons with him,one in a grey T-shirt and the second in black track pants. A security guard is also visible. Luke and his friends make an attempt to enter the room but appear to be pushed out by someone inside. The video clip ends at this point.

Luke was granted bail because the FIR filed in the case was specifically about his first visit to the room. For that,he was charged with trespass — the only offence that was non-bailable. Under the Indian Penal Code,trespass with an intention to commit assault or hurt (Section 452) is punishable with a maximum prison term of seven years.

“No material evidence for offence under Section 452 IPC (trespass after preparation for hurt or assault) is made out against the accused. The other offences under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) are bailable offences. I am granting him bail on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 with two sureties,” Magistrate Navita Kumari said.

The court directed Luke to surrender his passport and not to approach Zohal.

But the public prosecutor pointed to the second visit to the room and argued that Luke was mentally prepared to forcefully enter and cause hurt. Moreover,the others on the scene were witnesses who,the prosecutor said,Luke might try to influence.

Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta,appearing for Luke,argued that the FIR in the case was filed only for the first incident which showed friendly-entry as per the footage. Calling it an “unfortunate” case,he said his client was voluntarily offering to surrender his passport and would be sincere in cooperating with the investigation.

Later,Luke said he was very “relieved” by the outcome in the court. He said the last two days have been “horrible” but he has full faith in the Indian justice system. He said he was thankful for support from the franchise and girlfriend in Australia.

Zohal takes Mallya Jr to women’s panel

New Delhi: Zohal Hamid,who was allegedly molested by Luke Pomersbach,today approached the Delhi Commission for Women to file a complaint against Sidhartha Mallya,Director of Royal Challengers Bangalore,for what she said were his defamatory remarks against her on Twitter.

DCW chairperson Barkha Singh said: “I have received Zohal’s complaint and we will be registering it on Monday. Both Mallya and the complainant will be summoned before the commission. We are going to hear both of them and then decide the course of action.”

Soon after Luke’s arrest,Sidhartha,in a tweet,said: “She was all over me last night and asked for my BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) pin,so if he was her fiance,she wasn’t exactly behaving like a future wife.” Sumegha Gulati