The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed the state police investigation into the sexual harassment case recently filed against actor Jeetendra by his cousin.
Hearing the case on Saturday, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel passed the stay order on the actor’s petition to quash the FIR lodged earlier this month after initial hearing.
Yesteryear Bollywood star Jeetendra was booked by the Himachal Pradesh Police after his cousin alleged that he had sexually assaulted her way back in 1971. The complained was filed on February 7. In her complaint, the victim had alleged she was 18 years old and the actor was 28 when the incident took place.
“I knew Ravi Kapoor, known by the stage name of Jeetendra, as he used to visit us in Delhi for family gatherings,” she had alleged.
ALSO READ | HP Police book Bollywood actor Jeetendra for sexual assault in a 47-year-old case
In 1971, the actor had allegedly approached her father and asked him if she could join him for a film shoot in Shimla.
She had alleged that the actor brought her to Shimla from Delhi and they stayed in a hotel room which had two separate beds. “I was sleeping when the actor came to the room in an inebriated state and tried to force himself on me,” she had alleged, adding that while she objected the actor continued to sexually harass her. Jeetendra did not talk to her the next day and dropped her at her Delhi residence, the woman had alleged in her complaint.
She had claimed that she didn’t approach the police for the fear of her parents getting emotionally hurt over the incident and reported the matter only after the death of her parents.
Her complaint seemed to be part of global #metoo campaign against sexual violence and the victim said by filing the complaint she wanted to get closure and healing for indelible marks on her soul for years due to mental trauma after the abuse.
Police sources had earlier said it would be tough for them to collect evidence so many years later and prove the case.
“Police officials are likely to summon the complainant in the case in the coming days as they have only received the complaint on email and are yet to record her version,” they had said.
Jeetendra has already rubbished the allegations. In a statement, as per an IANS report, his counsel Rizwan Siddiquee had said, “Foremost my client (Jeetendra) specifically and categorically denies any such incident.”
He claimed that such “baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims” could not be entertained by any court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years.
He said: “In any event the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed company. Such efforts are, therefore, in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves,” Siddique had said.