BJP activist who received PM Modi in Australia, Balesh Dhankhar held for sexual assault
Allegations include luring women by posting fake job ads, interviewing victims
New Delhi: Balesh Dhankhar, a prominent BJP activist, is facing trial after being charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, 17 of intimate recordings without consent, six of using intoxicating substances to commit offence and assault with act of indecency.
Dhankhar, who is the founder-president of the ‘Overseas Friends of BJP’ in Australia and a former associate of the Hindu Council of Australia, played a major role in organizing the reception of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney, during Modi’s Australia visit in 2014. According to Australian media reports, Dhankhar had boasted about his access to Modi and had posted his photos with Modi on his social media accounts.
The police said that the activist had filmed himself with a camera hidden in an alarm clock, sexually assaulting five women he had lured to Hotel Hilton, with fake job interview offers.
A local newspaper had quoted Dr. Yadu Singh, a community leader, saying that Dhankhar had also been involved in organizing community rallies for Modi in Sydney, in November 2014. Dr. Singh, who spoke in relation to the charges on Dhankhar, said that the persons concerned had not duly responded to the reports in a Sydney community newspaper on Dhankhar’s activities. “These allegations are obviously serious and the Australian judicial process will surely take them to the rightful conclusion in due course,” Dr. Singh added.
On Tuesday, Sydney Morning Herald reported that the prosecutor told the jury at the opening of the trial that Dhankhar was ‘interested’ in young Korean women. He had allegedly posted advertisements on ‘Gumtree’ on translation work for Korean-English speakers, and met them at the bar of the Hotel Hilton, which was near his apartment in Sydney.
The report said that Dhankhar had a “state of mind to satisfy his particular sexual interest” by posing as an interviewer and lying to them, “so he could commit sexual acts on them and make intimate recordings of them – and do so whilst they were under the influence of a substance.”
Sydney Morning Herald, in its report on the court room proceedings, said that a young lady recalled having ice cream and one glass of wine at Dhankhar’s house, but nothing after that, until a late-night call to her boyfriend. Rather, she remembered being naked and feeling dirty and dizzy, she remembered bright lights, a condom wrapper and experiencing pain.
The jury was told that Dhankhar had a tendency to record intimate images as well as videos of unconscious Asian and Korean women.
Rebecca Mitchell, who is Dhankhar’s lawyer, admitted that Dhankhar had a sexual interest in women, used fake ads to meet them, and was ‘deceptive’. She stated that Dhankhar did not dispute having a sexual relationship with the women.
The advocate, however, argued, “Dhankhar’s case is that each of the complainants consented to sexual acts they engaged in but the prosecution needed to prove Dhankhar’s guilt.”
The activist also disputed that the images were taken without consent of the women and that he drugged them, Mitchell said.
Officer in-charge of the case Sergeant Katrina Gyde told the court that a hard drive, containing 47 videos of the accused having sexual intercourse, was found in Dhankhar’s backpack.
‘Overseas Friends of BJP’ leader, who received Modi in Australia, arrested on rape charges
— Dr. Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) March 16, 2023
Warning — Harsh details in news coverage. https://t.co/UaUWpcJNBb
Australia: Balesh Dhankhar the president of RW ruling BJP party of PM Modi is a sex criminal on trial for 39 charges including 13 counts of rape allegedly committed between January and October 2018. He recorded his act with the victims on camera.#Hindutvahttps://t.co/UhSdT6NuoK
— South Asian Journal (@sajournal1) March 16, 2023
Balesh Dhankhar, prosecutors allege, had a “particular” sexual interest in unconscious Korean women.
— Perry Duffin (@perryduffin1) March 15, 2023
A hidden camera was allegedly found in his apartment.
He is charged with drugging, raping and filming five women after fake job interviews.https://t.co/QTxnKBFMTY @smh
Balesh Dhankhar is the President of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) Australia https://t.co/bVbOuYneOv
— Monsieur Larkin ♘ (@Hakicat) March 16, 2023
In this Facebook post Balesh Dhankar proudly celebrates BJP’s election wins in Gujarat and Himachal https://t.co/u4us00SnLi pic.twitter.com/J0OuAqG3cx
— URScrewed (@URScrewed_) March 16, 2023
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Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expected to visit Andamans for Savarkar event
Sri Vijaya Puram (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are expected to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Thursday, during which they will unveil a statue of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a senior official said.
Security has been beefed up in view of the high-profile visits, and traffic restrictions may be imposed in some areas, he said.
Bhagwat may have a brief interaction with the workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Dollygunj in Sri Vijaya Puram. This will be his first visit to the archipelago as a 'sarsanghchalak'.
Nearly two decades ago, Bhagwat had visited the islands as a 'sarkaryavah' (general secretary), while this will be Shah's second visit to the archipelago, which he visited in January 2023 to commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
On December 12, both will unveil a statue of Savarkar at Beodnabad in South Andaman around 9.30 am, and in the evening, they will release a song on Savarkar in an event scheduled to be held at Dr B R Ambedkar Institute of Technology (DBRAIT), the official said.
On December 13, Bhagwat may address a public gathering at ITF Ground in Sri Vijaya Puram in the evening, and he will leave the archipelago on December 14.
The Union home minister may leave the islands either on the night of December 12 or the next morning, he said.
The entire event will be organised by a Maharashtra-based business group to commemorate the 116th anniversary of the penning of Savarkar's iconic poem, 'Sagara Pran Talamala' (Take me back to my motherland, O sea, my soul yearns). He wrote this poem in 1909.
Savarkar was jailed in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair (now known as Sri Vijaya Puram) by the British in 1911.
