Choreographer Jani Master booked for sexually assaulting a colleague

A.K.Jani alias Jani master.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Raidurgam police of Cyberabad booked a zero First Information Report (FIR) against choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, popularly known as Jani Master, on allegations of sexually assaulting a woman.

Police said that the woman, aged 21, is also a choreographer. In her complaint to the Raidurgam police, the victim, who has been closely working with the accused for the past few months, claimed Jani has been sexually assaulting her during their outdoor shoots.

“The complainant said that Jani had sexually assaulted her multiple times during their shoots in different cities, including Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. She also claimed that he assaulted her at her residence in Narsingi several times,” said the police.

Based on her statement, a zero FIR was booked by the Raidurgam police and transferred to Narsingi police for further investigation. “Since the woman is a resident of Narsingi, the case has been transferred to the police there and further investigation will be taken up,” a senior police official said.

He was booked under clause (2) and (n) of section 376 (rape), criminal intimidation (506) and voluntarily causing hurt (323) of the IPC, said the police.

The DG of Women Safety Wing (WSW) Telangana, Shikha Goel said that people from the film fraternity reached out to her for guidance in the case. “I advised them to launch an internal inquiry under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act and since the allegations also attract criminal charges, they were also told to register a case with the law and order police,” said the officer. “The case shall be investigated further as per protocol,” she added.

A senior officer from the Rajendranagar zone said that a proper and thorough inquiry will be conducted into the matter.

Earlier in June, Satish, a dancer, had filed a complaint against choreographer Jani Master with the Raidurgam police station. Satish accused Jani of harassment, claiming that the choreographer was preventing him from securing work in film shoots. However, Jani Master refuted these allegations during a press conference.

In 2019, Jani Master was sentenced to six months in jail by a local court in Medchal, Hyderabad. This stems from a 2015 incident where he was involved in a brawl at a college. He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to assault on a woman (354), causing hurt (324), and criminal intimidation (506). However, the Medchal court quashed the assault charge (354) and sentenced him to six months under the remaining sections.