A local court on Wednesday framed charges against Bollywood film Peepli Live co-director Mahmood Farooqui, saying there was prima facie sufficient material on record to conduct a trial against him for allegedly sexually assaulting an American research scholar.
The court said, “On March 28, at Sukhdev Vihar residence, you [Farooqui] committed rape of the prosecutrix. Let the charge be framed,” the court said.
Additional sessions judge Sanjiv Jain fixed September 9 as the date for commencing recording of evidence of prosecution witnesses on a day-to-day basis.
The judge also asked the forensic lab to expedite the examination of case properties and submit a report at the earliest as the complainant’s visa was valid only up to October 5.
The court directed DCP South-East to depute a senior officer to ensure the presence of the witnesses summoned.
Mr. Farooqui had allegedly assaulted the victim at his residence at Sukhdev Vihar in South Delhi in March this year. The victim had gone to meet him to seek his help for her research on Baba Gorakhnath. The police had charge-sheeted the accused under Sections 376 (rape) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.
