Scuba diver instructor ‘molests’ woman underwater in Udipi

Mumbai: A 23-year-old woman was molested underwater by her instructor during a scuba diving course which she undertook at the Shirur beach near Byndoor in Udupi, Karnataka.

Recounting the horror, the young IT professional from Bengaluru wrote in her blog post that 'all she could was signal OK'.

The girl wrote: “We were all told to give our instructors the ‘OK’ signal underwater every few minutes to let them know that we were alright. We descended underwater… 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… 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 tried to shake his hands away from my body but in vain… 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… 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,” she wrote.

Describing the ordeal, she said that after unsuccessfully trying to break out of his clutches “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…”

In her blog she claims that once she was back on the shore she confronted the diver.

She also stated she had a video of him confessing of his act following which she lodged a police complaint.

According to reports, the Byndoor Police confirmed the incident and said that the diving instructor identified as Direndra Ravath, 45, a native of Uttarkhand working with Dreamz Diving School, was arrested and later released on bail.

It is learnt that he had molested three girls in the span of two months. The woman is now waiting for a final court hearing date. If proven guilty, he would be sentenced to jail for three years.