Would love to see our industry become cleaner, respectful of women: AR Rahman on #MeToo
Mumbai, Oct 23 : Music maestro AR Rahman believes India's #MeToo movement has the power to make the entertainment industry cleaner and respectful of women.
The 51-year-old Oscar-winning composer, who shared his views on the movement Monday night via social media, said his aim has always been to create a safe working environment for everyone.
"Been observing the #MeToo movement... Some of the names have shocked me... both the victims and their perpetrators... I would love to see our industry become cleaner and respectful of women... More power to all the victims coming forward!!
"In all my endeavours, my team and I are committed to creating an environment where everyone finds a safe creative space to bring their best, evolve and succeed," he wrote.
Rahman, however, said people should be careful before creating a "internet justice system".
"Social media offers great freedom for victims to speak up, however we should be careful in creating a new internet justice system, in case it's misused."
Rahman's statement comes weeks after his long-time collaborator Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu was accused of predatory behaviour by multiple women, including popular singer Chinmayi Sripaada.
India's #MeToo movement started after actor Tanushree Dutta revived a decade-old allegation of harassment against Nana Patekar, accusing him of sexual misconduct on the sets of a 2008 film.
Following Dutta's allegations, many from the Indian film industry including people like Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai, Sajid Khan have been accused of sexual harassment by various women.
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Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora sent to 7-day ED custody
New Delhi/Gurugram (PTI): A court in Gurugram has sent Punjab's Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora to seven days of ED custody in a money laundering case, officials said on Sunday.
Arora, 62, was arrested on Saturday evening from his official residence in Chandigarh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a GST fraud case following raids against him.
The central agency had also searched the premises of a company linked to Arora, Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, in Gurugram. The company said it had faith in the legal process and was fully cooperating with all the statutory authorities.
Arora was brought by the ED sleuths to Gurugram, Haryana, from Chandigarh by road, the officials said.
The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram sent Arora to seven-day ED custody. The agency had sought his 10-day remand, they said.
The minister's lawyer told reporters that the ED registered the case on May 5 and arrested Arora on May 9. He claimed this was a "politically motivated" case.
According to the ED, the probe under the PMLA pertains to "fake" GST purchases of mobile phones worth more than Rs 100 crore and subsequent exports to "round trip" alleged illegitimate funds from Dubai to India.
The agency alleged that multiple fake GST purchase invoices were acquired from "non-existing" firms in Delhi to falsely claim Input Tax Credit (ITC).
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal condemned the ED action, accusing the Centre of using agencies like the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation as "weapons" to scare opposition leaders into joining the BJP.
The BJP hit back, saying Kejriwal and his party were rattled as they knew that "their days are numbered in Punjab".
