Yoga guru molests woman, arrested
Singapore: An Indian yoga instructor here has been sentenced to nine months' jail and a fine of 1,000 Singapore dollars for molesting a woman.
Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, was sentenced on Monday after he was found guilty of "outraging the modesty of a woman" and "using criminal force on her", the Strait Times reported on Tuesday. The trial in the court began in 2016.
Prasad, who was trained and certified in Kolkata, reportedly cupped and pinched his assistant manager's breast while she was doing yoga on April 26, 2015.
Despite the woman's resistance and being told to stop, Prasad molested her again in a similar manner.
In his submission, Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew said: "The victim ... did not leave the class or seek help immediately because she was in a state of shock and disbelief. She felt helpless in that environment and did not know what to do.
"She had felt violated and embarrassed by the accused's actions and was in disbelief that this could happen to her in a yoga class," Chew said.
The court heard that while the woman was walking out of the studio after the class, Prasad grabbed her neck and pulled her backwards. The woman alerted the police the next day.
Defence lawyer Steven Lam pleaded for a nine-month jail term for Prasad and stressed that the touches were "fleeting".
The Indian national, according to a report in Channel News Asia, plans to appeal against his conviction and is out on a bail of 16,000 Singapore dollars.
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UP: 90 Bangladeshis, including 28 children, held in Mathura for illegal stay
Mathura (UP), May 16 (PTI): As many as 90 Bangladeshi nationals, including many children, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district on Friday for alleged illegal stay in India, officials said.
They were taken into custody from local brickyards at Khajpur village under the Naujheel police station limits, a senior officer said.
"Regular searches were being conducted throughout the district. During one such operation, police were searching some local brickyards when they came across Bangladeshi nationals working there," SSP Shlok Kumar said.
Giving a break-up, the officer said in all, 35 men, 27 women and 28 children have been taken into custody.
"During interrogation, all of them admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. They moved to Mathura three to four months back from a neighbouring state. Police are trying to establish their links," the SSP said, adding that their job contractor and other associates are also being questioned.
The officer told PTI that police also recovered some Aadhaar cards from the Bangladeshi nationals, apparently issued on forged documents in some other state.
Further legal proceedings are underway, Kumar said.
