AUSTRALIAN cricketer Luke Pomersbach, who’s accused of molesting an American woman and assaulting her fiancé, had to swallow a bittersweet pill on Saturday.
The lack of a forced entry into the hotel room, evident in the CCTV footage provided to the court, convinced metropolitan magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha to drop the trespassing charges against the Royal Challengers Bangalore ( RCB) player, allowing him to be granted bail.
But the footage also corroborated portions of the victim’s complaint and brought up a new potential witness whom the police are yet to identify.
“ I am disappointed with the allegations made against me. It’s a sickening comment and I hope that the court will get to the bottom of this,” the IPL player said, adding that he was relieved.
Pomersbach’s counsel insisted that the incident was a misunderstanding.
“ It is a fact that till 4- 5 am, they were enjoying and drinking beer,” senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said, “ They were in an inebriated state, what happened then was just a misunderstanding.” RCB team manager Avinash Vaidya acted as surety for Pomersbach, who had to pay a bail bond of ` 30,000 and was directed not to approach the complainant or attempt to leave the country without permission. The only non- bailable offence the cricketer had been booked under — Section 452 of the IPC referring to trespassing for assault — was quashed after Pomersbach’s counsel argued that he hadn’t forced his entry into the hotel room.
Pomersbach is alleged to have groped Zohal Hamid and then beat up her fiancé early morning on Friday after the trio’s drinking spree at the ITC Maurya’s Dublin club.
The trespassing charge fell flat as soon as Hamid told the court about the incident. “ He tagged along with us when we were going to the room. We didn’t want to be rude, so we didn’t say anything,” Hamid said.
The police also showed CCTV footage from the hotel’s hallway that confirmed Hamid, her fiancé Sahil who is currently in the hospital, Pomersbach and another friend had walked into the room together.
While this part ended up working in Pomersbach’s favour, other portions of the video appear to corroborate Hamid’s complaint where she said she ran out of the room following the incident and the ensuing brawl around 5.30 am after which she called the hotel security for help.
The footage also shows Pomersbach leaving the room with a beer bottle in hand and his arm appearing injured. He’s then seen returning with another man who has not yet been identified.
“ The accused came back a second time with this person. The person knocked at the door, and then you see him being pushed from the door, which then appears to be slammed,” the investigating officer told the court. “ They then proceed to banging the door repeatedly.”