Karim Morani and 6 more Bollywood celebrities accused of rape

There have been several incidents where Bollywood celebs were accused of sexual assault. While some of them were convicted, others were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Bollywood has always been controversies’ favourite child. While Bollywood celebrities continue to entertain us and have become a part of a normal Indian’s daily life, B-town’s scandalous relations are often the topic of discussions. From illicit affairs to divorces to sexual assault and unfortunate suicides, tinsel town grabs headlines for scandals. In one such shocking case of Bollywood’s other side, producer Karim Morani has been accused of rape and blackmail by a 25-year-old woman. The Hyderabad police have filed a case against the producer for rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation. Karim Morani is the owner of Cineyug Entertainment that has organised many high-profile Bollywood events. He has produced movies like Chennai Express and Happy New Year.

Karim Morani was also named in 2G spectrum scam. But it is not clear yet if the rape case filed against him is real or a conspiracy. We take a look at some more Bollywood celebrities in recent times who were accused of rape and most of whom have been acquitted or the case not registered or closed altogether, like in the case of Galliyan singer Ankita Tiwari, actor Shiney Ahuja or director Madhur Bhandarkar.

1.Dibakar Banerjee

Bollywood’s maverick director Dibakar Banerjee was accused of molestation by a former friend and actress Payal Rohatgi. The actress who had has been a Bigg Boss contestant said that Dibakar Banerjee made offending comments about her weight and insisted she show him her belly to check how much weight she had gained However, the director rubbished the allegations leveled against him and said that he was being framed. Dibakar Banerjee has directed movies like Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Khosla Ka Ghosla and Shanghai, to name a few.

2.Shiney Ahuja

Shiney Ahuja was arrested in 2009 for allegedly raping his domestic help. A sessions court sentenced Ahuja to seven years imprisonment with a fine of Rs 3,000. His maid later withdrew her statement, but a trial court convicted Shiney Ahuja based on circumstantial evidence. He was acquitted of charges of wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation and later released on bail by the Bombay High Court. The case stands closed as of now.

3.Madhur Bhandarkar

Model and actress Preeti Jain accused acclaimed director Madhur Bhandarkar of rape. Jain said that Bhandarkar raped her for three years, promising to cast her in a film which he later refused to do. The rape case went on for nine years but the Supreme Court of India quashed it after Jain said that she did not want to pursue it further.

4.Ankit Tiwari

Singer-composer Ankit Tiwari was arrested for rape after a 28-year-old advertising professional filed a complaint against him. She alleged that he raped her in the pretext of getting married to her. The woman also said that the singer’s brother threatened her with dire consequences if she approached the police. Ankit Tiwari garnered fame with the song Sunn raha hai na tu from Aashiqui 2 and later Galliyan from Ek Villain. The matter was settled out of court after a petition was filed by Tiwari in the Bombay High Court.

5.Aditya Pancholi

Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi was accused of raping his then girlfriend Pooja Bedi’s maid. As per reports, he had sex with the maid. promising to give her a role in Bollywood. However, as the maid was minor it was termed as rape. Probably no case was registered against Aditya Pancholi, but Pooja and Aditya broke up after the incident.

6.Mahmood Farooqui

Director Mahmood Farooqui, known for his 2010 satire Peepli Live produced by Aamir Khan, was arrested after an American woman accused him of rape. He was convicted of the charges and sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court.

There have been several other incidents where Bollywood celebs were accused of sexual assault. While some of them were convicted, others were acquitted for lack of evidence. In June 2014, Bollywood actor Inder Kumar, known for supporting roles, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a model. He was later granted bail. There have been unverified reports of sexual abuse by several other celebs, like composer Anu Malik, director Rajkumar Santoshi, singer Kavitha Krishnamurthy’s husband L Subramaniam, and actors like Aman Verma, Shakti Kapoor, the late Rajesh Khanna and Om Puri.