Shame again! Woman molested underwater by scuba-diving instructor

Bengaluru, April 22: Seems like there is no place safe for women, not even underwater! Recounting the horror of how she was molested underwater by her diving instructor, a 23-year-old IT professional from Bengaluru writes 'all she could was signal OK.'

In her blog where the post first appeared, she writes that the incident took place on January 26, 2015 at the Shiroor beach in Udupi when she along with her friends tried scuba diving.

The woman writes that once underwater, the instructor had the breathing equipment in his control and also the oxygen tank in his hands. ""My instructor had my breathing equipment in his control and my oxygen tank in his hands. But as we swam across the corals, the fish and the fluorescent-coloured plants at the very bottom of the Arabian Sea, his hands were no longer on my diving equipment.

First one hand, then the other and finally both. I cringed in shock. I tried to shake his hands away from my body but in vain. The shock slowly turned to fright when his hands began to move across my body. I looked in his direction in despair but couldn't see him.

After all, he was right behind me with both his hands groping me. I was aghast and tried to think fast. I tried to break free but the grasp was too tight. He then signalled asking me if I was okay. I signalled with an ‘OK'. 12 meters below sea level, with my breathing equipment under his control, I didn't dare show any fear."

"In the matter of a few seconds, his hand forcefully found its way back to where he removed it from. My body turned numb with fear. I wanted to scream and shout, I wanted to release myself from his clutches, I wanted to cry, but all I could do was signal him with an ‘OK' because more than anything else, I wanted to get back to the boat and to my friends, safe and sound.

'My breathing equipment under his control, I didn't dare show any fear'

For the next 40 minutes, he took complete advantage of my silence and my helplessness. His hands found their way to every part of my body but they chose to stop only at a few. They pulled me closer to him, caressed me and violated me. All I could do was signal him with an ‘OK'.

The woman writes that once out of the water she realised that she was held for longer than usual underwater and that upon confrontation, the instructor admitted to his crime.

She lodged an FIR with the police following which the instructor was arrested but later on released on bail. She later came to know that the instructor had harassed women on previous occassions. The woman is now waiting for a final court hearing date.

If proven guilty, he would be sentenced to jail for three years. He has molested three girls in the span of 2 months. I couldn't let this happen anymore, she writes

OneIndia News