Molestation case: CCTV shows Luke Pomersbach returned after fight

NEW DELHI: Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach, who is accused of molesting US national Zohal Hamid, got bail on Saturday even as a determined Zohal opened a new front in her battle for justice, slapping a legal notice on Bangalore IPL team director Siddharth Mallya for defaming her. Siddharth is team owner Vijay Mallya's son.
In her notice, Zohal demanded an unconditional apology within 24 hours for his derogatory comments against her on a social networking site.Her lawyer said the notice was faxed to Siddharth on Friday night. "What he said was completely untrue and very hurtful. I'll take legal action against him, if he does not apologize," a livid Zohal said on Saturday. Mallya had tweeted on Friday: "She (Zohal) was all over me last night and asked for my BBM pin, so if he was her fiance she wasn't exactly behaving like a future wife."
Zohal also submitted a written complaint to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Saturday. "I've received a complaint and we'll take it up on Monday," DCW chairperson Barkha Singh said.
"The comments made by Siddharth Mallya are derogatory. They defame my client and amount to assassination of character without any basis. We have asked for an unconditional apology within 24 hours of the receipt of the notice which should be written or to the satisfaction of my client. We will wait till Tuesday evening and initiate legal action if the apology is not made," senior advocate Rajneesh Chopra, heading the team of lawyers assisting Zohal, said. Meanwhile, metropolitan magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha allowed bail to Pomersbach after she found no evidence to show he had trespassed into the complainant's hotel room where the incident occurred.
Judge Bagha went through the CCTV footage of the alleged incident provided by the police and said no charge of "house trespass or wrongful restraint" was made out against the Australian. Since the other sections, including causing hurt and trying to outrage the modesty of a woman are bailable, the cricketer walked free. He has since left for Hyderabad.
The court directed the 27-year-old Team Bangalore player not to approach Zohal and gave bail on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 with two sureties of like amount. He was directed to surrender his passport and cooperate with the police. Pomersbach later told TOI: "I'm innocent and relieved to have been given bail. It's been a trying time for me, but I have full faith in the Indian judicial system and these baseless allegations will be proved false. I have a girlfriend back home too."
On Saturday evening he submitted his passport to the New Delhi district police.
"He has furnished the Mumbai address of Avinash Yadav, manager of the IPL team. He will be contacted on this address for assistance with investigations, whenever required. We've taken his passport and he has an Indian visa till 2014," a senior police officer said.
Scrutiny of the CCTV footage showed two witnesses to the events at the victim's hotel room. "Sahil Peerzada and his fiance were accompanied by their friend Miraz Khan and Luke Pomersbach when they first entered Sahil and his fiance's room, the footage shows. Pomersbach left after some time with a beer bottle in his left hand as his right hand appeared to have been fractured. Later, when Luke tried entering the room a second time, a hotel guard tried to stop him. The guard has been identified as Vikas Yadav. We are questioning both witnesses," the officer said.
The police also submitted to the court the medical report of Peerzada, who is undergoing treatment. Sahil is stable and at Chanakyapuri's Primus Hospital. "He has been moved out of ICU and is recovering from the ear surgery. His wound is healing well and hearing is almost back to normal. His dressing will be changed on Sunday by the plastic surgeon. He'll be discharged from hospital either on Sunday or Monday," Dr DK Baluja, executive director of the hospital, said.
Pressing for rejection of bail, the prosecutor said the incident took place when Pomersbach entered the hotel room with the woman, Sahil and Miraz. The investigating %officer told the court that a little later, Pomersbach returned with a man and tried to re-enter the room forcibly, but was pushed back from inside. Therefore, a charge of trespass with the intention of causing hurt; assault or wrongful restraint was made out against Pomersbach. The public prosecutor said Pomersbach was pre-determined to commit the offence as he had returned to the woman's room.
Pomersbach's counsel, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, conceded that his client was present there, but the entry into the room was friendly. "Bail should be granted. But as he is a foreigner, the investigating officer or this court may have the apprehension of his fleeing, so in that case, he will surrender his% passport."
Gupta argued the alleged incident took place between 4am and 5am and the court must keep in mind that all parties involved were drunk. He said no ground for arresting Pomersbach had been mentioned in the records. "Even if any case is made out, the court should not send him to jail. For what purpose will he be sent to jail? Only because the media is interested in this case, he should not be sent to jail," he said.
In another move, Zohal lodged a new complaint against five unnamed people, three of whom she claimed were IPL players. She said when she returned from the police station after lodging the molestation FIR, they had threatened to kill her if she didn't take back her complaint.
Police investigation revealed that the room where the incident took place was booked in the name of Venkat Reddy, who owns the Hyderabad IPL team. "Sahil's father's friend is an ex-official of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. Sahil was originally staying at Hotel Leela, and shifted to Sheraton," said a police source.