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UDUPI/MANGALURU: Turning scuba diving into a horrifying experience for women, a sexual predator is on the prowl on the Karnataka coast, working as an instructor despite facing molestation charges. Dhirendra Rawat, who allegedly molested at least three women undersea while scuba diving, was arrested twice and released later. He is still working as an instructor in Uttara Kannada though he doesn’t have the permission to do so from the district administration. The terror Rawat, instructor at Dreamz Diving, Murudeshwar, unleashed on tourists came to light recently when an IT professional blogged about her nightmare off Shirur coast on January 26.

"The monster had my breathing equipment in his control and my oxygen tank in his hands. As we swam across the corals, his hands were no longer on my diving equipment... The shock slowly turned to fright when his hands began to move across my body... I tried to break free but the grasp was too tight. He then signalled asking me if I was okay. I signalled with an ’OK’. 12 meters below sea level, with my breathing equipment under this monster’s control, I didn’t dare show any fear," she wrote. The techie filed a complaint, after which Rawat was arrested in February. He was out on bail after a fortnight. "The charge sheet was filed at Kundapur JMFC Court.

He didn’t having a diving permit in Uttara Kannada, so he would come to Malpe and Shirur beaches in Udupi district and take tourists off the coast to remote islands,’’ Byndoor sub-inspector Sudarshan said. Rawat termed the acts of violating women "just playing", according to a woman who confronted him. The first incident happened in November, when two couples were taken by four diving instructors about 20 nautical miles off Malpe coast, Udupi. "Rawat slowly took Meena (name changed) far away and got her isolated. She didn’t know swimming, so she was at his mercy. We finished diving in about 30 minutes and after more than an hour, Rawat came along with Meena,’’ said Ruchir (name changed), a friend and one of the foursome. "In the room, she broke down and narrated what had happened. Rawat had groped her. When we confronted him, he admitted to it, saying ’I was playing with her’." They called up police, but Meena backed out from filing an FIR, fearing it would affect her future. "She recently saw a post about it and started crying."

In the second incident, he targeted a Punjabi doctor last December. She lodged a complaint with Byndoor police. He was arrested in January, and spent 15 days in custody till he was granted bail. When called up Exploita Scuba Diving, Goa, which engages Rawat’s services, a spokesperson said: "Tell me which corporate entity doesn’t have cases against it?" When the molestation cases were pointed out, the person at the other end was taken aback and said the management would review Rawat’s services and may even terminate dealings with him.