2 Navy sailors accused of sexual attack during visit to South Korea Indrani Mukerjea in JJ Hospital for suspected dengue

A goodwill visit by an Indian warship to South Korea’s Incheon port aimed at strengthening military ties ended up causing deep embarrassment to the Indian Navy after two of its sailors were accused of sexual harassment by a local woman. The groping incident is said to have taken place at a convenience store on the night of October 23, the very same day stealth frigate INS Sahyadri anchored at the port, casting a shadow on the five-day visit.

There were some tense moments at the Indian embassy in Seoul and on the warship — commanded by Captain Kunal Singh Rajkumar — after the Incheon police launched a probe on the basis of the woman’s complaint about inappropriate behaviour from the sailors. Indian officials cooperated with the investigation but there were fears that the scandal could cut short the visit to the deeply conservative country.

Indrani Mukerjea, a key accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was admitted to Sir JJ Hospital, Byculla, on Wednesday.

Authorities at the Byculla women’s prison, told the special CBI metropolitan magistrate court that she has been suffering from high fever, which could be dengue.