FORMER HEAD OF BJP GROUP IN AUSTRALIA FOUND GUILTY OF DRUGGING, RAPING 5 KOREAN WOMEN

Wed 26 Apr 2023:

An Indian-origin man in Australia was convicted of drugging and raping five Korean women while recording the activities on a hidden camera, according to the Sydney Morning Herald,

Balesh Dhankhar, a prominent member of Australia’s Indian diaspora with political ties, was on trial on 39 counts, including 13 instances of rape occurred between January and October 2018. On Monday, a jury in Sydney’s District Court found him guilty of all charges.

Dhankhar is a former head of a group called ‘Overseas Friends of the BJP’ in Australia. A photo on his website showed him shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The website has now been removed.

Dhankhar has been quoted in the past by Indian publications on Bharatiya Janata Party-related events.

Indian Express report during PM Modi's 2014 visit to Australia, quotes Dhankhar https://t.co/DmnbR7nbKl

— Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) April 24, 2023

The 43-year-old data expert broke down in court when the jury foreman replied “guilty” to each of the 39 charges against him, the Herald report said. He will face court again in May and will be sentenced later in the year.

A predator’s modus operandi

The jury heard Dhankhar had a ‘very specific modus operandi’ to ensnare the women – with a fake job posting for Korean translators. He used the same hotel, café, and Korean restaurant to meet the women before taking them to his studio apartment in the Sydney CBD under false pretences.

Prosecutors said Dhankhar spiked glasses of wine and other drinks with tablets of the sleeping drug Stilnox or infamous date-rape drug Rohypnol.

Dhankhar filmed the rapes on a camera hidden in his bedside alarm clock, or on his mobile phone, which were both recovered by police.

When police searched Dhankhar’s apartment in October 2018, they discovered 47 videos of him having sexual intercourse with women, some of whom were unconscious while others were struggling and groaning as if in agony.

The rape videos were organised into folders, each labelled with the victim’s name.

Dhankhar was arrested on October 21, 2018, after his fifth victim woke up while he was assaulting her, and sent messages to a friend while hiding in the bathroom.

According to The Herald, the jury “writhed” as they watched the videos, and at one stage, when it became unbearable, they asked the judge to send them home early.

In his defence, Dhankhar explained that he lied to women because he was lonely after an extra-marital affair broke down. He blamed his loneliness on the “unfulfilling” intimacy of his marriage, the report said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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