Houseboat owner held for ‘raping’ foreigner

Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested a houseboat owner for allegedly raping an Australian tourist. A case was registered after the Austral...

Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested a houseboat owner for allegedly raping an Australian tourist. A case was registered after the Australian Embassy in New Delhi intervened following the tourist’s complaint.

Camerion Boucher arrived in Srinagar on May 27 and booked herself on houseboat VH Sun Beam in Dal Lake. In her complaint, Boucher said she was initially treated well but later, the owner, Rafiq Ahmad, started making sexual advances. When she resisted, he raped her and withheld her travel documents. Ahmed then threatened her against informing the police and confined her to the boat.

Boucher told police she managed to escape in the third week of July, leaving behind cash, he passport and tickets. She said she was scared to approach the Jammu and Kashmir police and instead, rushed to New Delhi and contacted the Australian Embassy. Police said the matter was referred to them by the Union Home ministry for immediate action after the Embassy brought it up.

Sub Divisional Police Officer at Nehru Park Aziz Akbar Khan said a case of rape has been registered against Ahmed. ‘‘We received a complaint from the tourist. She told us that she was raped by the houseboat owner. We have arrested him and investigations are on,’’ he said. Boucher, however, has left for Australia.