Contestants were provided lodging at the Mohali Phase 5-hotel after auditions, where they were allegedly sexually harassed and asked for sexual favours by Miss Punjaban pageant’s staff members
The contestants were allegedly illegally detained at the hotel in Phase 5 in March
Mohali police on Tuesday arrested Dinesh Kumar Arora, the owner of Hotel JD Residency in Phase 5, in connection with the illegal detainment and sexual harassment of Miss Punjaban beauty pageant contestants in March.
The contestants were provided lodging at the hotel after clearing the auditions, following which they were allegedly sexually harassed and asked for sexual favours by the pageant’s staff members. One of the contestants was even “rescued” by a high court-appointed warrant officer after her father moved a habeas corpus petition.
Rabindra Narayan, the managing director of PTC Network, that organises the contest, was previously arrested on April 6. His bail pleas have been rejected twice by court.
Said to be the president of the Mohali Hotel and Restaurants Association, Arora was produced before a court on Tuesday and sent to police remand.
Apart from Narayan and Arora, others named in the FIR are Nancy Ghuman, director, Miss Punjaban 2022-23; Niharika Jain, assistant director, Miss PTC Contest 2022-23; producer Lakshman; and Bhupinder Singh, MD, Hotel JD Residency.
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