Farooqui’s students asked to join investigation

NEW DELHI: Two days after Mahmood Farooqui was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a US national at his Sukhdev Vihar house, police have asked two of his students to join the investigation. The woman had mentioned these students in her complaint.
The investigators also plan to corroborate the survivor’s versions with that of the common friend who had introduced her to Farooqui in Gorakhpur.Sources said the friend is associated with Farooqui and the Dastangoi programmes and had met the woman during her visit to Delhi last year.
Police officials said the woman’s councillors at the US embassy have also been asked to persuade her to stay on till the probe is carried out. The woman, who is currently staying with a friend in the capital, had planned to leave for the US on Tuesday.
A list of 15 witnesses, who will be questioned to establish the exact sequence of events, has also been prepared, police said. If needed, police will also ask Farooqui’s wife, Anusha Rizvi, to join the probe.
The US scholar’s clothes will also be sent for forensic examination. Police has also asked her to give them a copy of the email that she had sent to Farooqui a day after the incident as well as the reply sent by him.