An Indian-origin public servant in Canberra has been denied bail over alleged stalking of a woman he met through a dating app. A Canberra court ruled that releasing Suyash Sinha, 31, could put the woman's safety and wellbeing at serious risk.
Sinha was arrested on Tuesday after police raided his home and seized a number of electronic devices, NDTV reported. He appeared before the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Magistrates Court on Wednesday, October 14, where Special Magistrate Lucinda Wilson refused his bail application.
Dating app meeting turned into months of alleged harassment
Sinha allegedly met the woman on a dating app in January, The Telegraph India reported, citing the Region Canberra portal. After she told him she was not interested in a relationship, he allegedly kept messaging her for months.
In August, he allegedly sent her a message describing what she was wearing while she shopped at a Coles supermarket in Canberra, saying he was there too — an incident that made her fear she was being stalked. The woman later agreed to meet him at a pub to ask him to stop contacting her.
At that meeting, Sinha allegedly said he worked in finance for the ACT government. When she mentioned her brothers, he allegedly named one of them and told her that "anyone could be looked up in government systems" — an apparent threat to use government databases to obtain personal information about her and her family, Hindustan Times reported.
Intimidating messages and usernames
The court heard that the woman received friend requests from multiple social media accounts with what prosecutors described as "bizarre, intimidating and harassing" usernames, including "will be seeing you soon …" and "I hate you so much, goodbye".
The woman went to the police in September and was advised to deactivate her social media accounts. Prosecutors told the court she was terrified and experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to ABC News.
Prosecutors opposed Sinha's release, arguing he had developed a fixation on the woman and refused to accept her rejection, and that he might interfere with witnesses or evidence if freed. His lawyer argued that Sinha played a significant financial role supporting family members overseas and in Canberra, which would give him an incentive to comply with bail conditions.
Judge: risk to her safety "too great"
Special Magistrate Wilson ruled that Sinha's alleged "intense" behaviour showed a "complete disregard for the rights, safety and issues of the complainant".
"I appreciate you have interests in the community, but I consider your risk to the safety and health and wellbeing of the complainant is too great."
Sinha, who became an Australian citizen only last week, Deccan Herald reported, remains in custody. The case will return to court next month.
The takeaway
The ruling underscores how Australian courts treat stalking cases that involve alleged misuse of official data access: prosecutors' argument about Sinha's fixation, his alleged refusal to accept the word "no", and the threat to look up the woman's family in government systems all weighed heavily in the decision to keep him behind bars while the case proceeds.
Watch: recent YouTube news coverage of the Suyash Sinha Canberra stalking case and bail refusal
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Lightless Dawn (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources
- NDTV: "Risk To Her Safety Too Great": Indian-Origin Man Denied Bail In Stalking Case
- Hindustan Times: Indian-origin public servant in Australia allegedly stalks woman, threatens to track her through government databases
- The Telegraph India: Indian-origin Australian public servant denied bail in stalking case over alleged database threats
- Deccan Herald: Indian-origin public servant arrested in Australia, denied bail in stalking case