Out on bail, taekwondo teacher ‘rapes’ woman, held

NEW DELHI: A 27-year-old woman from south Delhi’s Rangpuri Pahari, near Vasant Kunj, on Wednesday claimed to have been raped by 38-year-old taekwondo teacher Sandeep Chauhan, an alleged serial offender who has been previously involved in multiple cases of crime against women, including molestation, stalking, and harassment.

Police said Chauhan, who was out on bail, allegedly barged into the woman’s house, drugged and raped her before robbing and leaving her home on May 29. They said Chauhan was arrested after the woman approached the police, filed a case and identified him when she was shown the pho- tographs of the offenders of crimes against women.

Chauhan had earlier been arrested on April 14 this year for allegedly flashing in front of two women in Vasant Kunj area. Police said he walked out on bail in the case only a few days before his latest crime. They said Chauhan has a history of around 30 cases, of which few are related to outraging a woman’s modesty by allegedly flashing in front of her.

A police officer associated in the latest case said that on May 29, the woman was returning home when Chauhan started following her.

The woman in her complaint told police that as she entered her flat, the man allegedly followed her and pushed her inside. He then allegedly bolted the door from inside and threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm. “The man then tied her limbs and forced her to consume liquor with him. He then forced himself on her and left the flat around 4am with her phone,” said the officer.

Police said the woman went to her office the next day and told a colleague about the incident. The colleague then accompanied her to the Vasant Kunj North police station where she filed a case. The physical description of the suspect given by the woman made the police personnel suspect the involvement of Chauhan. They showed her the photographs of some habitual offenders.

“She identified Chauhan by seeing the photos and we arrested him with the help of electronic surveillance,” said the officer.