New Delhi: The 22-year-old who has accused ET Now anchor Varun Hiremath of rape and assault, claimed she knew him but never consented to any of his advances.
Hiremath has been on the run for almost a month, ever since an FIR was registered against him on 23 February, for allegedly raping and assaulting the woman at a five-star hotel in the national capital.
The 28-year-old Hiremath’s anticipatory bail application was rejected by a Delhi court Wednesday. The court noted that consent cannot be implied from the complainant’s previous experiences with the accused.
Speaking to ThePrint, the 22-year-old said, “I have known him for the last three years, so I had gone to meet him, not knowing that he would do something like that.”
According to the woman, Hiremath manipulated and tricked her into joining him in the hotel room. The FIR states that she and Hiremath met at a Khan market cafe first after which he asked her to come to his hotel room.
“The reason I agreed to go to the hotel room was only because he had told me that he is in town with his family,” she claimed. “I figured that it would be fine. When I was asked to submit my Aadhar card at the hotel, I thought that was for Covid-19, I had no clue that Varun is booking himself a new room, in a separate wing of the same hotel.
“I had repeatedly told him no, but he was all aggressive, I felt he would harm me inside the room,” she claimed. “He threatened me saying he has paid Rs 11,000 for this room.”
She further claimed that she had made it clear that she was not consenting to any of his advances.
“I had made it clear to Varun that I have no interest or desire to indulge in sexual intercourse with him. There is no question of consent,” she said. “It took great courage to bring the matter to the police but I am also disappointed that he still hasn’t been caught.”
Based on the woman’s complaint, an FIR under IPC sections 376 (punishment of offence of rape), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) was registered at Chanakyapuri police station on 23 February.
ThePrint reached Hiremath’s lawyer, Sandeep Kapur, through multiple calls and messages but there was no response until the time of publishing the copy.
The anchor’s defence counsel had argued the bail on grounds that he had been “falsely implicated” and “whatever had happened on the day of offence was consensual”.
‘No consent, was forced’
In her complaint lodged on 23 February, the woman has said, “It is crucial to emphasise that I had only agreed to spend time to chat and catch up with the accused, and at no point of time was this an indication of willingness or consent to engage in any sexual activity let alone intercourse”.
The 22-year-old has accused Hiremath of forcing her to perform oral sex among multiple other instances of assault and violence.
She has also said that the anchor, “hails from an extremely powerful family, and, therefore, has resources to tamper with evidence, before the investigation has begun”.
The Delhi court also observed that some WhatsApp chats between Varun and the woman after the day of the alleged crime indicate “towards the feeling of sorry by the accused of his acts”.
Reward to be announced
According to the police, Hiremath switched off his phone and became untraceable after they served him a notice and tried to call him for questioning.
Earlier this month, the Delhi Police issued a lookout circular against the anchor, barring him from leaving the country.
“Teams are on the lookout in Mumbai and Gujarat. We have strict surveillance on his possible locations and contacts,” a senior officer said.
“Reward declaration on information on Varun Hiremath is in process and will soon be announced,” another officer said.
“Raids are being conducted at all places where the possibility of his presence can be there,” DCP (New Delhi district) Eish Singhal told ThePrint.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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