For Actor Shiney Ahuja, this could be good home work for a future film role. The actor, who has often found his characters in movies to be on the wrong side of the law, seems set for a stint in prison. The Sewri fast-track sessions court in Mumbai has awarded him seven years’ rigorous imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping his maid in June 2009.Although the victim had retracted her statement that she had been raped during the in-camera trial, the court convicted Shiney based on the initial FIR and strong forensic evidence. Judge P. M. Chouhan did not consider the maid’s denial of rape in court, but expressed doubts about her evidence being partly false.
Amitabh Gupta, the additional commissioner of police who was supervising the probe, said he was “ happy with the judgement, as we have got a conviction in spite of the victim turning hostile during the hearing”. The important forensic evidence in the case were injuries on the private parts of the maid — sustained when she resisted Shiney — and the DNA samples of the accused that proved that he had intercourse with her. Since it was an in-camera trial, journalists were not allowed to cover the proceedings.
While the actor’s wife Anupam did not respond to calls and text messages, Shiney’s family friend, who did not want to be identified said: “ The family is shattered. We believe he was framed and we will appeal against this verdict in the higher court. He is a fine man, a great husband and a doting father to their daughter.” His friend said that as the judge delivered the verdict, Shiney who came to the court wearing a pink shirt and jeans accompanied by Anupam and his close friends, looked back tearfully towards his wife to check if she was fine.
The actor, who has been living with Anupam and her parents in Noida since the last year, was sent to the Arthur Road Jail from where he is likely to be shifted to either Yerwada Jail in Pune or the Nasik Central Prison. The actor’s friend said his family was worried about his health as he has had an attack of dengue last August and suffers from a slipped disc. In fact, he aggravated his back injury during his stay in jail in September 2009.
His friend said the family may direct his counsel to seek court orders for his proper treatment and care while in jail. “Our next move will be decided once we receive the copy of the judgment. Right now, we are only completing formalities with the prison authorities,” Shiney’s counsel Srikant Shivade said. In June 2009, the maid had filed a police complaint claiming that Shiney had raped her. Shiney was arrested and then released on bail after only three months.
However, after the trial began in a fast track court, the girl refuted her earlier statements. In September last year, the 20- year- old girl told the court that she had filed a false complaint against the actor at the behest of the woman who had secured her the job of a maid in Shiney's residence.
On September 3 last year, the victim had identified Shiney in court and said she used to work at his residence as a domestic help. But when asked about the incident, she said she was never raped. Following this, the court had declared her hostile. The police, in its 109- page chargesheet, had charged Shiney with rape and wrongfully confining the victim. Shiney, in his defence, had argued that he was falsely implicated.
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