The Shimla Police has charged Bollywoord actor Jeetendra for allegedly sexually assaulting his cousin in 1971, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Superintendent of Police Umapati Jamwal told the daily that “an FIR under Section 354 IPC has been registered at Chotta Shimla police station”.
The police registered the complaint after the woman, who was 18 at the time of the alleged assault, had written to Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police SR Mardi in February, urging him to register a First Information Report against the actor. “After her email, we got in touch with the complainant, who later had also sent us a written complaint to support her version,” Jamwal said.
The police will now record the complainant’s statement before a magistrate. She has been asked to provide any evidence she might have about her stay in the hotel where the alleged assault took place, Jamwal told the daily. The complainant has neither provided the name of the hotel nor the proof of her stay there, he added.
The investigation will be conducted as per the old provisions of Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code that were in force in 1971, and not the amended provisions, the police officer said.
Jeetendra had allegedly “arranged” for the complainant to join him in Shimla at the sets of a film. On the night after they reached Shimla, the actor reportedly entered their room in an inebriated state and sexually assaulted her. The actor has refuted these allegations, calling them “baseless, ridiculous or fabricated”.
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