Court denies bail to accused in Dutch women’s rape

NEW DELHI - A city court Saturday rejected the bail plea of a man arrested for allegedly raping two Dutch women in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. The accused posed as a tourist guide in the capital before taking them to that state.

District Judge S.P. Garg said the plea of Yasir Altaf, who had claimed in his bail application that the physical relationship was consensual, was devoid of any merit as the investigation into the case was still at an initial stage.

“Application is devoid of any merit. The investigation is still at the nascent stage,” said Garg.

The youth from Kashmir was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by one of the victims at Connaught Place police station.

The women had alleged that Altaf and one of his associates, Omar Baktoo, posing as tourist guides, raped them several times.

The duo, aged 24 and 23 years, reached India at the start of January this year with a view to tour several cities. They checked into a hotel in Paharganj in the heart of the capital. Altaf and his accomplice met them in Connaught Place, the city centre.