Blame it on Bollywood

Sandesh Baliga arrested for stalking women, excused when he alleged he learnt pursuance of women from Indian films

KARACHI: Stalking and harassing women is considered as a major crime across the world, punishable by at least five years of imprisonment in many countries. But an Australian court of law in Tasmania recently acquitted an Indian man charged with stalking women. Although this is not the first instance of a person being excused for an offense, the reason behind the acquittal is what makes this case interesting. Sandesh Baliga, a 32-year-old security guard, was excused after he argued that he learnt from Bollywood movies that relentlessly pursuing women was the only way to woo them, reported IANS.

Baliga, who hails from a remote, rural part of India and had moved to Australia to study Accounting, said that like other Indians, he enjoyed watching Bollywood movies, Roznama Express reported. Unable to make ends meet, Baliga acquired a job as a security guard, which is when he started pursuing woman relentlessly.

But this didn’t last for long as two women filed a police complaint against Baliga for stalking them for elongated periods of time. In Australia, he was accused of stalking two women – one for 18 months in 2012, and another, for four months in 2013 – by repeatedly calling, texting and approaching them. He even called himself their ‘boyfriend’.

In court, Baliga pleaded guilty to the charges, reasoning that he drew inspiration from the male leads of several Bollywood movies who won the love and affection of their love-interests by doggedly chasing them. His lawyer, Greg Barns, termed his client’s attitude as being “quite normal behaviour” for an Indian man.



In the end, the court magistrate, Michael Hill, accepted the argument put forth by Baliga, citing his cultural background as a major influence on his behaviour. However, he was only allowed to go on the condition that he maintains good behaviour for the next five years. The judge further added that punishing Baliga would also have adverse effects on his career, which is why he decided against it and let him go with a warning this time.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th,  2015.

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