Lawyer of the accused has said that, this is nothing but a publicity stunt by victim. Vikas did it unintentionally. Vikas does not have any criminal background and is happily married for 12 years and has 9 year old son.
The man accused of molesting a Bollywood teen actor during a Vistara Delhi-Mumbai flight has told police his leg touched the star unintentionally and that he even apologised to her after she raised an alarm.
39-year-old Vikas Sachdev, who stays in Mumbai’s Andheri suburb, also said he was returning from Delhi after attending a funeral and was really tired while on the flight as he hadn’t slept in a long time.
And so, Vikas said, he asked the cabin crew not to disturb him during the flight and chose not to eat his meal as he wanted to sleep throughout the flight. Vikas’s claims match a portion of the official statement given by Vistara to the Mumbai Police, which is investigating the alleged molestation.
Arguments by HS Anand, advocate of defence (accused Vikas Sachdev):
- Victim in the case is almost 18 years old and therefore the case should not be heard in POCSO act
- The section applied in the case i.e. 8 of POCSO act, is wrong in this particular case
- Victim and Vikas were travelling in business class. The chair of business class has good height and therefore nobody can keep legs on the chair and touch the person sitting in the front row
- If the victim was being molested continuously in two hours flight why she did not complaint at first or even later during the flight
- If victim had problem than why she did not inform the airport officials or her mother
- This is nothing but a publicity stunt by victim. Vikas did it unintentionally. Vikas does not have any criminal background and is happily married for 12 years and has 9 year old son.
According to Vikas, he apologised to the actor after finding out that his leg had touched her shoulder, an act he said was unintentional. Vikas’ wife Divya, supported her husband’s claim.
“My husband was coming home from Delhi. His mamaji (maternal uncle) had passed away and he was not in the right frame of mind. He was feeling very low and asked for a blanket. He wanted to sleep. I am shocked at (the actor’s) allegation. The police have taken my husband into custody,” Divya said.
The actor, who appeared in the sports-drama Dangal, had earlier alleged that she was molested while on a flight from Delhi to Mumbai. Vikas was detained by the Mumbai police after the actor gave her statement to the police.
A case under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and Indian Penal Code Section 354 (assault with intention to outrage a woman’s modesty) was registered against Vikas Sachdev. The POSCO act was invoked since the actor is a minor.
According to sources, after the incident, came to light a team of three Vistara officials flew to Mumbai from Delhi to take note of the incident. A meeting between the teen actor and the officials was organised at a hotel in Mumbai. The meeting went on for over an hour where the star narrated the incident in front of the Vistara officials.
The star’s mother was present during the meeting.