She Was Molested Underwater By Her Scuba Diving Instructor. This Is Her Horrifying Story.

We can talk about the topic “Is India safe for women?” over and over again, but it seems the answer will always be “No”. Not on land – which has been proved more than enough times. And thanks to a certain Mr. Dhirendra Rawat, nor under water.

Kavya Raman, a 23-year-old woman, has written about this chilling incident that happened with her when she went scuba diving in the waters off the coast of Karnataka.

She writes that her personal diving instructor clasped her palm tighty and led her away from the boat – while her friends were preparing for their dives with their instructors near the boat. This boat was half an hour away from the nearest shore.

scubadiving-1
Image source

“We descended underwater, meter by meter, and finally reached the sea bed. My instructor had my breathing equipment in his control and my oxygen tank in his hands. But as we swam across the corals, the fish and the fluorescent-coloured plants at the very bottom of the Arabian Sea, his hands were no longer on my diving equipment. First one hand, then the other and finally both. I cringed in shock. I tried to shake his hands away from my body but in vain. The shock slowly turned to fright when his hands began to move across my body. I looked in his direction in despair but couldn’t see him. After all, he was right behind me with both his hands groping me. I was aghast and tried to think fast. I tried to break free but the grasp was too tight. He then signalled asking me if I was okay. I signalled with an ‘OK’. 12 meters below sea level, with my breathing equipment under his control, I didn’t dare show any fear.”

 

The molester – Dhirendra Rawat, is an instructor at Dreamz Diving, Murudeshwar.

He allegedly molested at least three women under the sea while scuba diving, was arrested twice and released later. He is still working as an instructor in Uttara Kannada though he doesn’t have the permission to do so from the district administration.

scubadiving-2
Image source

“The sea was calmer than ever, but there was a hurricane inside my head. He moved one of his hands away from me to adjust his equipment. By reflex, I guarded myself with one of my hands to prevent him from touching me again. In the matter of a few seconds, his hand forcefully found its way back to where he removed it from. My body turned numb with fear. I wanted to scream and shout, I wanted to release myself from his clutches, I wanted to cry, but all I could do was signal him with an ‘OK’ because more than anything else, I wanted to get back to the boat and to my friends, safe and sound. For the next 40 minutes, he took complete advantage of my silence and my helplessness. His hands found their way to every part of my body but they chose to stop only at a few. They pulled me closer to him, caressed me and violated me. All I could do was signal him with an ‘OK’.”

When they surfaced from under the water and got to the boat, another instructor asked her why she took so much time; her friends had taken just 20-25 minutes. She gathered all her friends and instructors and confronted the molester.

 

He fumbled, saying a few words like ‘sorry’, ‘by mistake’ and ‘loose equipment’.

scubadiving-3
Image source

An FIR was lodged against Mr. Dhiraj Singh on the grounds of Sexual Molestation under IPC 1860, section 354, soon after which he served a 20 day non-bailable sentence.

Sometime afterwards, she found out that hers was the second report against him in the last 1.5 months, and there were unreported cases against him for the same crime as well.

After being released from jail, he resumed his activities at Dreamz Diving as an instructor, while changing his name to Ashok Singh (name changed).

When TOI called up Exploita Scuba Diving, Goa, which engages Rawat’s services, a spokesperson said: “Tell me which corporate entity doesn’t have cases against it?” When the molestation cases were pointed out, the person said the management would review Rawat’s services and may even terminate dealings with him.

He was arrested in January, and spent 15 days in custody till he was granted bail.

The original post appeared here.

Images used for representational purpose only.

Cover Image Source

📣 Storypick is now on Telegram! Click here to join our channel (@storypick) and never miss another great story.