Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra got pulled into a controversy after his cousin filed an FIR against him accusing him of sexual abuse in the year 1971 in Shimla. The lady reportedly mentioned that the actor forced himself upon her in a drunk state when she was 18 and he was 28 when they were outdoors for a shoot. Post #MeToo movement and her parents' demise, the woman decided to seek justice for the alleged incident. However, Jeetendra's lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee called these allegations baseless and ridiculous.
The statement issued by the lawyer reads, "Foremost my client specifically and categorically denies any such incident. Besides even otherwise such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any Court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years. The Statute has provided a justice delivery system through the Courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered.”
The statement further proceeds as, "Besides I want to make it specifically clear that the law does not give any person any rights or liberties of making any baseless, ridiculous or fabricated claims against any man publicly and seek to defame him with a hidden personal agenda. Media is therefore advised to cautiously refrain from giving any importance to such ridiculous, baseless and fabricated claims, and they should not participate in any way whatsoever in defaming or assassinating the character of any man in such cases. In any event the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed Company. Such efforts are therefore in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves.”
Now that there has been a legal confirmation from the Bollywood star's side, it has to be seen how the case turns out to be. Watch this space for more updates on Bollywood happenings.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2018 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).