In yet another case of stalking and harassment being considered legitimate ways of pursuing a romantic interest, an Indian scientist detained in the US said his actions were ‘no big deal’ for he ‘liked’ the girl.

Tarun K Bhardwaj, a 38-year-old nuclear scientist, was working at A&M University in Texas when he was detained for harassing and stalking a woman student in December 2016. He was also charged with preventing a police officer from carrying out his duty. He has been lodged in Brazos County Detention Centre in Texas, since.

However, Tarun has alleged that he is a victim of racial discrimination and that he had been “framed” for shedding light on “high level corruption”. Speaking to Sandeep Rai of TOI, he added, “Charges of harassment of a female student is not such a big deal in my case as I liked her."

Officials from the Indian Consulate in Houston said that this was not the first time that Bhardwaj was charged for such acts. The officials added that he would be deported to India after the necessary court proceedings.

According to IB Times, Bhardwaj had been working at A&M University as an assistant research scientist, specializing in "chemical characterisation of special nuclear materials, separation of fission products from spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste".

He was arrested in 2015, between January and August on harassment charges. According to The Asian Age, this is the fifth time Bhardwaj has been detained, “and every time he has been booked for harassing the same female student, which is a serious charge”. 

He also allegedly violated surety bonds he had signed. Bhargwaj had also been given a GPS ankle monitoring device to wear at all times. However, he allegedly removed it illegally, leading to his arrest.

Bhardwaj’s family in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh meanwhile, also says that he is a victim of conspiracy motivated by racism and jealousy. Prasoon Bhardwaj, Tarun’s elder brother, said that Tarun was being targeted because he refused to withdraw the charges of corruption that he apparently exposed, leading to his dismissal and arrest.

Their father, Ram Krishan Bhardwaj said that his younger son was being victimised for his “meteoric rise in the field” by jealous contemporaries.

Indian consular officers have denied these allegations of racism. “There are hundreds of students and researchers from India at A&M University but not a single incident of racial discrimination has been reported,” they said.

They added that their investigation revealed that Bhardwaj was not a favourite among other Indians at the institute as well. “Indians at the University prefer to stay away from him because of his behaviour," the officials said.

Tarun Bhardwaj holds a PhD from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and reportedly left for the US to work as a researcher in 2007.

印度一科学家涉嫌骚扰女学生被捕辩称喜欢没有错

【环球网综合报道】据《印度时报》5月18日报道，自2016年12月至今，一名印度籍核科学家一直被关在美国德克萨斯州拘留中心。他被指控对一名女学生进行性骚扰和跟踪，并且妨碍警方执行公务。《印度时报》日前对该科学家进行了采访。

      这位38岁的科学家名叫塔伦.K.巴德瓦杰(Tarun K Bhardwaj)。巴德瓦杰接受《印度时报》采访时为自己辩解说，他“喜欢”那名德克萨斯A&M大学的女学生，并表示并不觉得自己有什么错。他说，“我是种族歧视的受害者，并且受到了高层腐败的诬陷。被指控性骚扰在我的案子中不是什么大事，因为我喜欢她。”

      据报道，2007年，巴德瓦杰在印度太空研究组织和巴巴原子研究中心(Bhabha Atomic Research Centre)获得博士学位后，前往美国做研究员。根据他工作过的德克萨斯A&M大学官网资料，巴德瓦杰专于研究“特殊和材料的化学表征，以及乏燃料或高放射性核废料中的裂变产物分离”。目前巴德瓦杰的个人档案已从该校官网移除。

      报道显示，2015年1月到8月期间，作为助理研究科学家在德克萨斯A&M大学工作的巴德瓦杰曾被拘捕数次。根据《印度时报》从德克萨斯州布拉索斯县法庭得到的文件，巴德瓦杰被指控性骚扰一名女大学生，并因此签了保证书，但据称他之后屡次做出违反保证书的行为。后来他被要求在脚踝上携带GPS跟踪器，但据称他曾将其非法摘掉。2016年12月29日，巴德瓦杰被关入布拉索斯县拘留中心。

      据报道，巴德瓦杰住在印度的家人声称他是“高层腐败和种族歧视”的受害者。并致信印度总理办公室以试图让针对巴德瓦杰的控诉被撤销，并将其带回印度。

      印度驻美国德克萨斯州休斯顿总领事馆的高级官员表示，巴德瓦杰目前已连续第五次因“收到性骚扰同一名女学生的严重指控”而被拘捕。并表示，审判程序结束后，巴德瓦杰将被遣返印度。