A month after one of his cousins lodged a complaint of sexual assault against actor Jeetendra, an FIR has been registered against him in Shimla.
The woman had lodged a complaint on 7 February in Shimla, nearly 46 years after the alleged crime. “An FIR under section 354 IPC has been registered at Chotta Shimla police station. After her email, we got in touch with the complainant, who later had also sent us a written complaint to support her version,” a report in Indian Express quoted Shimla’s SP Umapati Jamwal as saying. The victim has been asked to provide evidence of her stay in the hotel.
Jeetendra has been booked under section 354 IPC, as per the provision that prevailed in 1971 when the alleged crime took place. The complainant will soon record her statement in front of a magistrate.
The victim belongs to Himachal Pradesh and has opened up about the incident after the demise of her parents. She confessed that her parents would have been grief-stricken to know about the deed of their nephew.
The woman claimed that the actor was 28 and she was 18 when the alleged incident took place. She said Jeetendra took her to the sets of film shooting in Shimla and then to a hotel room, where he molested her in a state of intoxication. Considering the stature and popularity of the actor, the victim has requested to keep her identity secret.
However, Jeetendra’s lawyer had refuted the allegations and termed them “baseless and ridiculous”.
The veteran actor is married to Shobha Kapoor and has two children Ekta Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor who belong to the same industry. Jeetendra is also the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Motion Pictures, and ALT Entertainment.