Balesh Dhankhar, a founding member of the ‘Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party’ (OFBJP) in Australia, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court for the rape of five Korean women. The court characterised his offences as “elaborately executed, manipulative, and highly predatory.”
Dhankhar, 43, employed a calculated and deceitful strategy to lure his victims. Posing as a recruiter, he posted fraudulent job advertisements for Korean-English translation work. Under this guise, he arranged interviews with young women at a Sydney hotel. Once he had gained their trust, he manipulated them into accompanying him to his apartment in World Square Tower. At times, he enticed them with promises of a view of the Sydney Opera House, while on other occasions, he pretended to have forgotten his car keys, using it as a pretext to lead them to his residence. Once inside, Dhankhar incapacitated his victims by spiking their wine or ice cream with sedatives before proceeding to sexually assault them. A hidden spy camera, disguised as an alarm clock beside his bed, recorded these horrific acts. When police later examined his devices, they discovered 47 video recordings of unconscious women being assaulted. Disturbingly, these videos were meticulously stored in folders labelled with the victims’ names.
Before his arrest in 2018, Dhankhar was an influential figure within the Indian-Australian community. He played a significant role in establishing the OFBJP’s Australian chapter and served as its president. Additionally, he represented the Hindu Council of Australia at interfaith discussions hosted by the University of Sydney. Dhankhar often boasted about his political affiliations, claiming to have direct access to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A now-deleted image from his personal website depicted him shaking hands with Modi. Further underscoring his political connections, he served as the media outreach officer for a 2017 event featuring BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, which promoted “the achievements” of Modi’s administration. Reports from 2014 also identified him as an OFBJP leader during Modi’s visit to Australia.
However, in July 2018, shortly before his arrest, OFBJP Australia announced that Dhankhar had resigned from the organisation. Following his sentencing, OFBJP Australia released a statement unequivocally condemning his actions, declaring that “his actions are abhorrent, and justice has rightly been served with his sentencing.” The organisation also clarified that he had not been associated with them since his resignation and expressed full support for law enforcement in holding perpetrators of such crimes accountable.
Dhankhar’s professional background includes a postgraduate diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as a diploma in Media Arts and Journalism from the University of Technology Sydney. Various reports indicate that while he was out on bail, he worked on one-year contracts as a data visualisation consultant with major corporations, including Pfizer and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), between 2019 and 2021. He had also previously been employed by British American Tobacco, Toyota, and Sydney Trains.
During the trial, Dhankhar did not dispute having engaged in sexual activity with the victims or recording the encounters but maintained that all interactions were consensual. However, the jury, visibly disturbed by the harrowing footage, had to be excused early on multiple occasions. His wife, frequently seen in tears, remained present in court and stood by him throughout the proceedings. Reports also suggest that in an effort to finance his extensive four-year-long legal defence, Dhankhar liquidated family assets. Judge Michael King delivered the sentencing, condemning Dhankhar’s utter lack of remorse. The judge emphasised that Dhankhar’s crimes exhibited a “complete and callous disregard” for his victims, driven purely by his “desire for sexual gratification.” With his sentencing, one of Australia’s most shocking cases of sexual predation has drawn to a close, bringing long-awaited justice to his victims.
With inputs from agencies
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