By IANS,
Chandigarh : An Indian banker accused of molesting a German woman here 10 years ago has finally been fined Rs.4,000. The woman says this is too minor a punishment.
A city court Friday convicted R.K. Sharma, then deputy general manager of the Reserve Bank of India, of outraging the modesty of the woman by passing lewd remarks and making indecent gestures.
“Though it took a long time, I am happy he has been finally convicted,” Karin Fichtner told IANS over telephone from Frankfurt. “However I am not satisfied with the quantum of punishment. A meagre fine is not enough for him.”
She added: “If we compare his punishment with the traumatic experience we suffered in an alien country, then it stands nowhere. It was one of the most terrible incidents of our lives as we did not know the local language and not even know a single person in the city.”
According to lawyer Terminder Singh, in August 1999 the German woman and her boyfriend Herbert Posch went to meet Sharma at his office here as they were facing problems in exchanging currency.
“On some pretext, Sharma sent Herbert out of the room and asked indecent questions and passed lewd remarks at her. He even chased the couple to their hotel room and misbehaved with the woman,” he said.
Fichtner came to India in January 2008 to record her statement before the court.
Fichtner said: “The accused was not at all repentant. He even came to meet me with his wife when I was in India. He said it was all a misunderstanding and told me to withdraw the case. However, he was not at all ready to apologise and admit his mistake.”