A.K. Jani aka Jani Master. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Raidurgam police in Cyberabad registered a zero FIR against choreographer Sheikh Jani Basha, popularly known as Jani Master, for sexually assaulting a woman.
The 21-year-old woman is also a choreographer, police said. In her complaint to the Raidurgam police, the victim, who has been working closely with the accused for the past few months, has claimed that Jani has been sexually exploiting her during outdoor shoots.
“The complainant said that Jani sexually assaulted her several times while shooting in various cities, including Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. She also claimed that he sexually assaulted her several times at her residence in Narsingi too,” the police said.
Based on her statement, the Raidurgam police registered a zero FIR and handed it over to the Narsingi police for further investigation. “Since the woman is a resident of Narsingi, the case has been handed over to the police there and further investigation will be carried out,” a senior police officer said.
He has been booked under sections (2) and (n) of 376 (rape), criminal intimidation (506) and voluntarily causing hurt (323) of the IPC, police said.
Shikha Goyal, director general of Telangana's Women Safety Wing (WSW), said people from the film fraternity approached her for guidance in the case. “I advised them to initiate an internal investigation under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act and since the allegations also involve criminal charges, they were also asked to register a case with the law and order police,” the official said. “The matter will be further investigated as per protocol,” she added.
A senior official of Rajendra Nagar zone said that the matter would be properly and thoroughly investigated.
Earlier in June, dancer Sathish filed a complaint against choreographer Jani Master at the Raidurgam police station. Sathish accused Jani of harassment and claimed that the choreographer was preventing him from getting work in film shoots. However, Jani Master denied these allegations during a press conference.
In 2019, a local court in Medchal, Hyderabad, sentenced Jani Master to six months in prison. This stemmed from a 2015 incident in which he was involved in a brawl at a college. He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertained to assault on a woman (354), causing hurt (324) and criminal intimidation (506). However, the Medchal court dismissed the assault charge (354) and sentenced him to six months under the remaining sections.
Published – September 15, 2024 07:20 PM IST