Shiney Ahuja arrested on rape charge, wife says he is innocent

Mumbai, Jun 15 (PTI) Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja was
Monday arrested on the charge of allegedly raping his 18-year-
old maid and remanded to police custody till June 18 after
preliminary medical tests indicated she was sexually
assaulted.

"The tests have indicated that the victim was sexually
assaulted, although the final report is still awaited,"
Additional Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta told PTI.

She had been taken to Nagpada police hospital in South
Mumbai where medical tests were conducted.

The 35-year-old actor allegedly raped his domestic
help at his flat at suburban Oshiwara on Sunday when she was
alone.

Ahuja, who was arrested early this morning was produced
before a local court which, after hearing arguments of public
prosecutor and defence lawyer, sent him in police custody till
June 18.

Ahuja's wife Anupama said he was innocent and she stands
by him. "I love my husband. He is a wonderful father, a great
partner and most importantly, he is an innocent man...I stand
by him with all my soul, with all my heart, with all my love".

She denied reports that Ahuja has "confessed" to raping
his maid. "It is a lie. It is utter rubbish.

Clad in yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, the actor did not
utter a word in the court and avoided eye contact with those
present.

Prosecutor S S Kasture sought actor's police custody
to enable them conduct further investigations, record
statements of witnesses and obtain forensic reports.

Ahuja has been booked under IPC Sections 376 (rape), 342
(wrongful confinement) and 506(2)(criminal intimidation).

"A day before the incident, he tried to get intimate with
her even though she avoided him. While she was working in
his house standing on a stool, Ahuja came and held her legs on
pretext of helping her," a police officer said.

According to the remand application, the victim went to
Ahuja's room with a glass of water after the actor called her
in the afternoon on the day of the incident.

But Ahuja, who was hearing music, closed the door and
asked her to keep quite, the application states adding he then
raped her after gagging her mouth and threatened her of dire
consequences.

She was also confined in one room for two hours, it says.
A few hours later, a domestic help working in a nearby house
knocked at Ahuja's door. The victim opened the door and
narrated the incident to her.

Subsequently, the victim, accompanied by her friends and
relatives, approached local police who lodged a complaint.

"Well, a sense of shock and shame," noted film maker
Mahesh Bhatt said when his reaction was sought on the
incident. "The Shiney we have worked with and the Shiney that
erupted in the headlines last night is not the same person,"
he said. PTI VM
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