Tainted masseur says he just wanted to be photographed with girl

Melbourne, Mar 14 (UNI) Suspended from the Indian contingent for allegedly molesting a teenager in the Commonwealth Games Village, masseur from SAI, Patiala, Diwan Asghar Nabi claimed he just wanted to be photographed with the girl.

Sources revealed Nabi telling Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials that he has no other intentions when he held the hand of the girl.

Meanwhile, the IOA and local police have decided to provide him legal assistance when Nabi appears in the magistrate's court tomorrow.

''We strongly condemn Nabi's act, if he has done so. But we can't leave him in the lurch. So, IOA has appointed a lawyer to fight the case,'' chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent HJ Dora told UNI.

Nabi was identified through an identification parade by men of his height and structure.

But according to the masseur himself, he wanted only to be photographed with the girl and had placed his hand across her shoulder asking another person to take a snap.

The girl had come to change the bed linen and another senior girl was standing outside, he said.

But he was not supposed to take a photograph there and hence the other girl reportedly shouted ''What are you doing?'' According to Nabi, that shout triggered a panic of sort among girls and he was mistaken as molesting the girl. The supervisor soon came rushing with a walkie-talkie in hand and the issue got misinterpreted, he claimed.

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