Sapna Gill's molestation allegation against cricketer Prithvi Shaw false: Police tells court
Mumbai, Jun 26: Social media influencer Sapna Gill's allegation that Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw had molested her at a pub in suburban Andheri in Mumbai is "false and unfounded", the police told a court here on Monday.
The investigating officer appeared before the magistrate, presiding over the case, on Monday and submitted a report about the matter.
After the police submitted the report, Gill's lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan requested the court to allow him to present the video footage of the alleged brawl that Gill's friend had recorded on his phone, which went viral in the media. He also sought a CCTV grab of the incident that occurred outside the pub.
The court asked the police to submit the footage of the entire incident and adjourned the matter to June 28.
Gill had lodged a complaint before a magistrate court in Andheri seeking registration of FIR under IPC sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) against Shaw and his friend Ashish Yadav for assaulting her with a bat in February.
Before moving the court, Gill had approached the Airport police station in Andheri for registration of a molestation case against the cricketer and his friend.
Police told the court that examination of the CCTV footage of the pub shows that Gill and her friend Shobit Thakur were drunk and dancing.
Thakur wanted to record Shaw with his mobile phone but the cricketer stopped him from taking videos. On perusal of the footage, it doesn't appear that Shaw and others molested Gill in any way, the police said.
Police said they have recorded statements of witnesses present in the pub where the alleged incident occurred and they stated that no one touched Gill inappropriately.
Police also examined CCTV footage of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, which is in the vicinity, and it is seen that the social media influencer was following Shaw's car with a baseball bat in her hand. The footage shows that she smashed the windshield of the cricketer's car, the court was told.
The report also mentioned that police have recorded statements of CISF officials and they too said no such incident had taken place as claimed by Gill.
According to a CISF official, they were alerted about a scuffle in the area. Upon reaching the spot, he saw a car's windshield smashed. The car driver said an argument broke out inside the pub and the manager had asked them to leave and that he wanted to lodge an FIR, as per the report.
The official saw a woman holding a baseball bat in her hand. Her male friend took the bat from her and threw it to the side when they saw police approaching the spot. None of the men at the spot was assaulting the woman, stated the report citing the statement of the CISF official.
The investigation conducted in accordance with the complaint of Gill revealed that the allegations against Prithvi Shaw and others are false /unfounded, police said.
Gill was arrested in February along with some others in connection with an alleged attack on Shaw following an argument over clicking selfies at a suburban hotel.
After securing bail, Gill approached the Airport police station with a complaint against Shaw, his friend Ashish Yadav, and others, for alleged molestation and outraging modesty.
She later moved the court after the police didn't register a case against the cricketer.
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Waqf Bill: Oppn members meet LS Speaker to protest par panel chairman's 'unilateral' decisions
New Delhi, Nov 5: Opposition members in the parliamentary committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to register their protest against alleged "unilateral" decisions being taken by panel chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.
They said the Speaker heard them patiently and assured them of a decision at the earliest.
"It was a very nice discussion. He was very kind to us. The Speaker has very patiently heard us and said he will look into the matter," TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and DMK MP A Raja spoke on similar lines.
"It was a fruitful meeting, the Speaker assured us of looking into our grievances," he said.
The MPs also submitted a memorandum to the Speaker detailing their concerns.
According to sources, the MPs submitted a letter to the Speaker, signed by Opposition MPs including Congress's Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood, DMK's Raja, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP's Sanjay Singh and TMC's Kalyan Banerjee.
Opposition MPs have accused Pal, the chairperson of the committee scrutinising the Bill, of taking "unilateral decisions" on fixing the dates of sittings -- which were at times for three consecutive days -- and whom to call as witnesses.
The MPs, in the memorandum, urged the Speaker to direct the Chairman of the JPC to have a formal consultation with members of the Committee before taking decisions on such issues, according to sources
They had also said they may be forced to "disassociate with JPC once for all as we have been stonewalled".
To a query on the issue on Tuesday, the MPs refused to divulge details. "We cannot reveal the details of the conversation," Singh said.
On whether they will continue to attend the meetings of the joint committee of the two Houses, Banerjee said, "Yes we will attend because the Speaker is looking into the matter".
The committee's proceedings have been stormy amid frequent protests from opposition members over a host of issues, while the BJP members have accused them of deliberately trying to scuttle its work.
