Sexual assault case: Court remands choreographer Jani Master to judicial custody

Hyderabad: Upparpally Court on Friday remanded cinema choreographer Shaik Jani Basha aka Jani Master to 14-day judicial custody after he was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who worked with him.

Jani Master, whose real name is Shaik Jani Basha, was apprehended in Goa by the Cyberabad police on Thursday and he was produced before a local court in Goa and a transit warrant was obtained.

He was brought here on Friday and produced before a city court which remanded him to 14-day judicial custody, a senior police official told PTI adding he was lodged in the Chanchalguda central prison.

The woman choreographer, in a complaint with the police, had alleged that Jani Master had sexually assaulted her in 2020 during a work trip to Mumbai and continued sexual harassment and also threatened her not to disclose it to anyone.

On September 15, the Narsingi Police had registered a case under sections 376(2)(n), 506, 323 of IPC.

On recording her statement, it was disclosed that she was a minor at the time of the alleged offence. Therefore, a relevant section of the POCSO Act, 2012 was added, police said.

As per the victim's statement, the accused committed sexual assault on her multiple times from 2020 at various places--different shooting spots and locations, including the victim's house and harassed her demanding sexual favours besides allegedly forced to marry him, police sources said.

The woman, who worked as Jani Master's assistant choreographer, alleged that he threatened her that her career would end and she would not get better opportunities in the future, they said.

Investigation revealed that the accused had taken advantage of the innocence of the victim and with a "dishonest" intention offered an opportunity to her to work as his assistant.

Investigators also recorded the "confession" statement of the accused.

Inputs from PTI