S African judge attending WSF arrested on rape charges

A city court denied bail to Seeraj Desai, 53, a senior judge in the Cape High Court, and remanded him in police custody until Friday, a police spokesman said.

South African media front-paged the story. Desai in an SMS to a mass-circulation newspaper, The Star, said he was not guilty.

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"I am innocent. I find rape offensive," he said.

The alleged victim in her statement to police said the accused raped her after she went to his room at around 3:00 am Sunday at the Taj President Hotel in Bombay's upscale Cuff Parade area to discuss the day's programme at the World Social Forum, the police spokesman said.