#MeToo:"Time to tell our side of the story”, says Priya Ramani after court summons in M J Akbar case
New Delhi, Jan 29: "Time to tell our side of the story", was the expression of journalist Priya Ramani, who was Tuesday summoned as an accused by a Delhi court for allegedly defaming former Union minister M J Akbar by levelling allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Ramani, who accused Akbar of sexual misconduct 20 years ago when he was a journalist, took to Twitter to react after the court summoned her for February 25.
She was the first among 20-odd female journalists who accused Akbar of sexual misconduct as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.
The women claimed to have worked with Akbar in 1990s and included Ghazala Wahab, Shuma Raha, Anju Bharti and Shutapa Paul.
In its order, the court said the allegations made by Ramani against Akbar were "prima facie defamatory" and he had denied all the accusations as "false and imaginary".
It also said that "at this stage, the court only has the version of the complainant, who has on oath deposed in court that all the allegations made are false and further brought witnesses to vouch for his impeccable and unblemished reputation".
Akbar, who resigned as Union Minister on October 17, last year had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media when he was in Nigeria, claiming that all the allegations against him were false.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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