Woman behind Trudeau groping allegations stands by account
Ottawa, July 7 : The woman who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 18 years ago of groping her says she stands by her account.
She released a statement on Friday to CBC News, her first public comment on the allegations that resurfaced over a month ago. She said the incident, described in August 2000 in an editorial in a newspaper "did occur, as reported", BBC reported.
Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is confident he did "not act inappropriately". The woman was a journalist at the time and covering an event attended by Trudeau.
The editorial and its allegations resurfaced after a blogger posted an image of the article on Twitter in June. The event in Creston, British Columbia, was held to raise money for an avalanche safety charity with which Trudeau was involved.
Days afterwards, an unsigned editorial appeared in a local paper, accusing him of "groping" a young female reporter.
Trudeau first responded to the nearly 20-year-old incident on 1 July when questioned by journalists. The Prime Minister said he did not recall any "negative interactions" at the event, though he said he remembered the day in Creston well.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister offered a more detailed response. "I have been reflecting very carefully on what I remember," he said. "I feel I am confident I did not act inappropriately." Trudeau said if he apologised at the time it was because he must have sensed the woman in question felt differently about their interaction.
"The same interactions can be experienced very differently from one person to the next," he said.
Published in the Creston Valley Advance newspaper, the piece accused Trudeau of "inappropriately handling" the reporter, who felt "blatantly disrespected" by the actions, which were not described.
According to the editorial, Mr Trudeau apologised for his behaviour and said: "If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward."
Trudeau was a 28-year-old teacher at the time of the event. He became involved with the charity Avalanche Foundation after his brother Michel died in an avalanche in 1998.
In her statement, the woman - who has not been named - confirmed Trudeau did issue an apology to her on the day after the festival, as was published in the editorial. "I did not pursue the incident at the time and will not be pursuing the incident further," she said.
"Beyond this statement, I will not be providing any further details or information. The debate, if it continues, will continue without my involvement."
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Two African nationals linked to 12 cyber fraud complaints nationwide held in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Two African nationals have been arrested over suspected involvement in an international cyber fraud racket that allegedly duped victims across multiple states of more than Rs 50 lakh, police said on Thursday.
The accused allegedly impersonated women on online platforms to befriend Indian victims and build emotional relationships. They would later claim to be travelling to India and fabricate stories about being detained at airports or facing immigration issues, seeking money for clearance and other expenses.
Police said the arrests were made following sustained surveillance, technical analysis and verification of suspicious mule bank accounts linked to multiple complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
According to the police, at least 12 complaints from across states involving defrauded funds exceeding Rs 50 lakh were traced to several bank accounts used by the accused.
"These accounts were opened in different names across various banks and were used to receive money fraudulently obtained from victims," a senior police officer said.
During investigation, six mobile phones and two passports were seized from the accused. Police said the devices contained incriminating chats, details of mule bank accounts and conversations with victims, along with fabricated images related to airports apparently used to mislead targets.
Both accused are also suspected to have links with drug trafficking activities in the Delhi-NCR region and are being probed further, police said, adding that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other members.
