The owner of a hotel in India from which a British tourist jumped, fearing she was to be sexually assaulted, is reported to have been held on charges of harassment.
The 31-year-old woman from London was injured after leaping from her second floor hotel room balcony after a man, reported to be the owner, allegedly forced his way into her room.
The unnamed woman is thought to have suffered head injuries and fractured both her legs following the incident in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.
She arrived in Agra two days earlier and was staying at the Agra Mahal hotel in the Rakabganj area of the city.
She accused the hotel manager of being drunk and said he attempted to offer her a “free oil massage” in the early hours of the morning, saying it was the hotel’s tradition to provide such a service.
After being rebuffed, he returned 40 minutes later with a second man, causing her to leap from her window to the floor below, and then on to the ground.
The injured woman then took a rickshaw to a nearby police station.
Deputy Superintendent Simranjit Kaur told the London Evening Standard that police may now cancel the hotel’s licence.
She said: “The woman became scared and leapt from the balcony – we have arrested the owner and may cancel the licence of the hotel depending on our investigations.
“She is very scared and has cancelled her plans to keep travelling in India. She just wants to return home.”
The hotel owner said the tourist’s claims were “baseless’ and told officers he had intended to wake her as she had requested a wake-up call at 4am for an early train, and he had returned to the room with a security guard.
It is understood the owner then attempted to open the door to her room with a key.
The incident came days after a Swiss tourist was gang raped by up to eight men in Madhya Pradesh.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office yesterday updated its advice for women visiting India, saying they should use caution and avoid travelling alone on public transport, or in taxis or auto-rickshaws, especially at night.