I&B ministry suspends choreographer Jani Master's National Award amid sexual assault allegations
New Delhi (PTI): The National Film Awards Cell of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has suspended the National Film Award to be presented to choreographer Jani Master citing allegations of sexual assault.
The authorities also withdrew the invitation to the choreographer to attend the 70th National Film Awards in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Jani Master, whose real name is Shaik Jani Basha, would have been felicitated at the ceremony for his work on the song "Megham Karukkatha" from 2022's Tamil movie "Thiruchitrambalam".
In the note, dated October 4 (Friday), the National Film Awards Cell said the letter to attend the National Film Awards was extended to the choreographer "before the allegations of crime under POCSO Act came to light".
"In view of the seriousness of the allegation and the matter being subjudice, the Competent Authority has decided to suspend the National Film Award of the Best Choreography for the Year 2022 to Shri Shaik Jani Basha for the film Thiruchitrambalam until further orders.
"Hence, the invitation extended to Shri Shaik Jani Basha for the 70th National Film Awards Function to be held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 8.10.24 is hereby withdrawn," read the note, signed by deputy director Indrani Bose.
A city court on Thursday granted interim bail to Jani Master after he filed the bail application to attend the National Film Awards.
Last month, a woman, who worked as Jani Master's assistant, in a complaint with the police, alleged that the choreographer 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 registered a case against the choreographer under sections 376(2)(n), 506, 323 of IPC (related to rape, causing hurt, and other offenses).
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.
Jani Master was apprehended in Goa by the Cyberabad police on September 19 and brought to Hyderabad and produced before a city court which had remanded him to 14-day judicial custody.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Assam Cong. leader Reetam Singh arrested for third time in a month
Guwahati: Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh has been arrested for the third time in one month by the state police. Singh, known for his strong criticism of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on social media, reported The Wire.
It’s worth noting that Sarma is also the state’s Home Minister and has direct control over the police.
Singh who is also an Advocate was first arrested on March 15 by the Lakhimpur police after the wife of BJP MLA Manab Deka who is a close aide to CM Sarma filed a complaint. She claimed Singh had defamed her husband and her father in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Her father belongs to a Scheduled Caste, so the police charged Singh under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with defamation and IT Act charges.
The Gauhati High Court later granted Singh bail on March 28. According to the report, Congress MP and general secretary media in-charge Jairam Ramesh had stated that the Gauhati high court had found Singh’s arrest “riddled with procedural errors, evidencing the haste and illegality of the regime’s efforts to throttle his voice. Reetam was targeted by the State of Assam for his social media posts but now stands released from custody.”
Ramesh also in his statement asserted that no matter what the BJP government throws at the Congress workers and leaders, the party will continue to fight for the common public.
However, on April 12, Singh was arrested again this time by the Morigaon police based on another complaint under the same SC/ST law. The complaint came from a local BJP leader named Dhonti Sharma. Qouting a Press Trust of India report, The Wire reported that the police didn’t share details at first, saying the matter was still being investigated.
When Singh was brought to court on April 13, he told reporters that he was being targeted just for speaking about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. After the court in Morigaon granted him bail, a different police team from Jagiroad arrested him once again.
A video of Singh’s third arrest has gone viral. It shows his father trying to talk to him through the police van, asking why he had been arrested again. When police refused, his father lay down in front of the van to stop it from leaving. Officers then removed him and asked him to visit the Jagiroad police station, about 27 km away, to get details.
Assam Congress President Bhupen Kumar Borah condemned the arrest and accused the chief minister of trying to suppress free speech. He said Singh was being treated like a dangerous criminal even though all he did was criticize BJP leaders on social media. Borah also said, denying Singh’s parents a chance to see him was a violation of human rights.
This is not the first time Assam police has been in the news recently. They also arrested journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder while he was covering a protest at a co-operative bank linked to corruption. Chief Minister Sarma is a director of the same bank. Mozumder too was charged under the SC/ST Act and later granted bail. A few days after his release, his brother was arrested in a separate land-grabbing case.
