New Delhi: A delivery agent of Amazon has been accused of molestation and attempt to rape by a 43-year-old woman, who also alleged that she was hypnotised by him in her apartment in Noida.
The incident took place on Monday when the 30-year-old agent arrived at the victim’s flat to pick up items that were to be returned and allegedly attempted to rape her after a fight broke out between them.
In her complaint, the victim, who works in a private firm, said that she had purchased a product on Amazon containing five small boxes, and filed a return request for all of them. When the accused reached her house at 11:20am to pick up the products, he refused to collect the entire consignment and claimed that he was supposed to accept only four boxes, not five, which led to an argument.
The victim’s sister alleged that the complainant had spoken to Amazon customer care and complained about the delivery boy, following which they were assured that the return for all five boxes will be processed again on October 9 (Wednesday).
Then, the pick-up agent, who called himself as Bhupendra Pal in the society’s entry register, went downstairs and returned within minutes. As he came back, he said that he was willing to pick up all the five boxes. However, she denied and told him that as per her conversation with the customer care, she would only hand over her items to another agent on Wednesday.
That was when the victim fell unconscious and was allegedly molested, according to her complaint. The victim alleged that the delivery agent hypnotised her, after which she had a blackout.
When she gained consciousness, she found the accused standing in front of her with his pants down, following which she gave out a cry for help. Alone in the house, the victim rushed to the washroom and brought out a floor wiper with which she beat up the delivery agent, who then quick fled the spot.
When the woman’s sister arrived at the flat around 2pm, she called the number that the accused had written in the entry register. “When I asked him where he came from, he said that he had come from the Amazon pick-up office in Sector 58 and then disconnected,” she told TOI, adding they had also filed a complaint with Amazon.
“We have checked the entry register and the man’s details were found to be correct,” SI Pradeep Kumar, the investigating officer in the case, said.
An FIR was lodged against Bhupendra under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life, said SHO Sector 49 police station, Dharmendra Sharma.
A spokesperson for Amazon also responded to the grave incident. “Safety is of utmost importance to us and these allegations are troubling. We are taking immediate action with our delivery service provider and police as they investigate,” the spokesperson said.