First the rude,now the crude

“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,” Sidhartha said in his tweet,inviting a wave of criticism.

Vijay Mallya regretted the incident involving Luke and said the team would cooperate with the investigation,a line his son too took.

Luke (27),who has not played a single IPL match so far this season,has been suspended till the time he is cleared of the charges. He has a history of brawls and brush with police in Australia.

He was arrested on a complaint by 28-year-old Zohal Hamid who was staying with 30-year-old Sahil Peerzada,her fiance,in Room 1640 of the ITC Maurya in Chanakyapuri.

Zohal alleged that Luke invited himself for drinks in her room and misbehaved with her. When she objected and Sahil tried to protect her,Luke landed punches on his head. He was later taken to the Primus Super Speciality Hospital for treatment.

Right arm in a sling,Luke was produced at the Patiala House Courts where he fainted. Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari released him on interim bail for a day and directed police to come tomorrow with CCTV footage from the hotel and medical reports.

In her statement to police,Zohal said she along with Sahil and some friends were partying last night at the Dublin pub in the hotel when Luke approached Sahil. They were all celebrating the Bangalore team’s win over Delhi just hours ago.

At 4.50 am,Sahil and Zohal left the pub to go to their room. She claimed Luke asked Sahil if he could join them for drinks in their room.

“When we left the party,this guy (Luke) tagged along with us and I just assumed that he was also staying in the hotel or on the same floor. When we reached our room,he came inside and said he wanted to have a drink with Sahil,so we let him come in. I thought they were all having a boys-night-out,so I decided to go to my room and sleep. He was giving me dirty looks,so that had also made me uncomfortable,” she said.

She alleged that Luke grabbed her by the hair. “He touched my breast and tried to kiss me forcibly. It was then that Sahil intervened. Luke thrashed him repeatedly and fled the spot. I called the hotel authorities who said they would send security officials. But no one came,” she said.

Zohal alleged that a senior manager of the hotel asked her to calm down,that the issue would be sorted once her fiance woke up. “My fiance was lying on the ground after being thrashed on his ear and they were asking me to let him sleep for a few hours. At that moment,I did not know what to do and how I should inform police.”

Around 5.30 am,Luke took the elevator to go to the 16th floor — the floor that has the room of the couple — when a security guard,Vikas Yadav,stopped him. “There was chaos when he tried to enter their room. Security officials had also reached the spot by then. Luke managed to flee the spot,” a police officer said.

Meanwhile,Zohal managed to speak to a friend who advised her to dial 100. Police said the first PCR call about the incident was made by Zohal at 6.23 am. Police reached the spot and were told that Sahil had been assaulted by an Australian cricketer. Zohal and Sahil were taken to hospital by the hotel authorities and police.

A police officer said Luke was spotted around 8 am by officers as he stepped off the elevator. Police asked IPL city coordinator Don Mans to accompany Luke to hospital where Sahil was being treated. It was at the hospital that Zohal identified Luke and he was immediately placed under arrest. Luke’s medical examination,conducted at RML Hospital,confirmed alcohol consumption.

Later in the day,Zohal told police that she had returned to the hotel to change her clothes when she received calls asking her to withdraw the case. “We are looking into her allegations. We have also asked for CCTV footage of the hotel at the time of the incident,” a senior officer said.

About Sahil’s condition,Primus hospital Executive Director Dr D K Baluja said: “There is no damage to the inner ear. The victim is complaining of hearing loss but we are waiting for investigation reports… There was a small wound for which we conducted micro surgery inside the ear. The wound will take a few days to heal. His external ear was badly damaged.”

Zohal said she and Sahil had come from Mumbai two days ago. They were at the Ferozeshah Kotla for the match last night. Zohal’s father is an American while her mother is of Iranian origin. Sahil is a businessman from Juhu in Mumbai.