Bollywood producer accused of rape, says it's 'bogus'

Hyderabad/Mumbai, Jan 19: Bollywood producer Karim Morani has been booked by Hyderabad police on charges of raping a 24-year-old theatre artiste from Mumbai and offering her a false promise of marriage.

Morani, of Cineyug Films, who has co-produced 11 Hindi films including Dilwale, Happy New Year, Chennai Express and Ra.One, has been charged under Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful restraint), 417 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), 493 (co-habitation caused by a man deceitfully indu cing a belief of lawful marriage) and 354-C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code.

A spokesperson for Morani issued a statement late Wednesday evening saying, "The complaint is absolutely false and bogus with the sole intention of tarnishing Mr Morani's reputation and image. Mr Morani will be taking appropriate steps in accordance with law to demonstrate that [the] complaint is malafide. He is truthful and innocent and has full faith in the judiciary and is ready and willing to co-operate with the authorities to the fullest extent."

The complainant, who is a friend of Morani's 28-year-old actress daughter Zoa (both worked together in Mumbai theatre), approached Hayathnagar police of the Rachakonda commissionerate alleging that he had raped her several times, including twice at a prominent film studio in the city, between September and October 2015. She also alleged that she had been sexually assaulted many times in Mumbai. Police said that in her complaint, the woman alleged that Morani had recorded her nude videos and also photographs on his cell phone during intimate sessions and he later blackmailed her by threatening to share them with friends.

She alleged that she was forced to keep quiet for so long because Morani had "threatened to reveal their relationship."

She also told the cops that she chose to lodge her complaint in Hyderabad as Morani "could use his influence to sabotage investigations" in Mumbai.

L B Nagar deputy commissioner of police Tafseer Iqbal told TOI, "According to the complainant, the offence took place more than a year ago. We are now trying to gather evidence." Police have not yet questioned Morani, and Iqbal said the police probe would be based on evidence they are able to gather in the coming weeks.