After the media reports relating to the woman’s email in February, Jeetendra’s lawyer had rubbished the charges as “baseless and ridiculous”. (Source: Express Archive)
Noted actor Jeetendra has been booked by the Shimla police on charges of molestation following a complaint lodged against him by a woman who has claimed she is his cousin and that the actor assaulted her sexually 47 years ago when they both were staying in a hotel in the town. The woman has claimed she was 18 while Jeetendra (real name Ravi Kapoor) was 28 at the time of the alleged incident in 1971.
The woman first made her complaint only last month, when she sent an email to Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police S R Mardi seeking registration of an FIR against the actor. Shimla’s Superintendent of Police Umapati Jamwal told The Indian Express on Wednesday, “An FIR under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Chotta Shimla police station. After her email, we got in touch with the complainant, who later also sent us a written complaint to support her version.”
The SP said the probe would be conducted as per old provisions of the section 354 of the IPC that existed in 1971, and not the new/amended provisions. Section 354 of the IPC deals with the offence of “outraging modesty” of a woman and carries a maximum punishment of two years’ imprisonment. Jamwal said the police would record the woman’s statement before the magistrate.
The police said that so far, the woman had not been able to give the hotel’s name or proof of her stay there, besides reasons of delay in informing the police. Asked about the development, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told reporters, “Right now, we don’t have much details about the case. An FIR has been registered. This an old matter which has come to light now. Whatever needs to be done will be done by the police. Let the law take its course.”
After the media reports relating to the woman’s email in February, Jeetendra’s lawyer had rubbished the charges as “baseless and ridiculous”.
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