Choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, popularly known as Jani Master in the Telugu film industry, was arrested from Goa days after he was accused of sexual assault by a junior choreographer who worked with him, officers said Thursday.
An FIR was registered against him under rape charges on September 16 at Narsingi police station on the outskirts of Hyderabad. A day later, sections of the POCSO Act were added to the case on the basis of claims that the complainant was a minor when he allegedly sexually assaulted her for the first time.
“He had gone missing after the FIR was lodged. We formed four teams to trace his location,’’ an officer said.
According to police, they found that he was staying in Goa and a team of Cyberabad Police’s special operations team went to the coastal state to arrest him.
Officials said that Jani would be produced in a local Goa court and then brought to Hyderabad.
The Jana Sena Party of which Jani is a member has barred him from participating in the party’s activities and programmes.
The Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce suspended him from the post of president of Telugu Film and TV Dance directors association after the case was filed against him.
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On Thursday, Jani’s wife Sumalatha was summoned to Narsingi police station. She left after an hour and police did not reveal why she was called.
The complaint was filed on September 11 at the Raidurgam police station, which registered a Zero FIR on September 15, and transferred the case to Narsingi police station.
According to the FIR, the complainant had received a call from Jani’s team to join them after she appeared on a TV show.
According to her complaint, “sexual favours were demanded if she wanted to work”.
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She alleged that she was only 16 when he first assaulted her in a Mumbai hotel room, and that he had threatened that she would not find work if she complained or told anyone about the incident.
She also alleged that since then, whenever the opportunity arose, Jani sexually assaulted her.
According to the complaint, when she started avoiding Jani, work offers in Telugu film industry “dried up”. She also allegedly received anonymous calls on August 17 and 28, warning her to be careful.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
