Choreographer Jani Master gets bail in sexual assault case

Jani Master

Popular film choreographer Jani Master was granted conditional bail by the Telangana High Court on Thursday in a case of alleged sexual assault on a junior female colleague. The celebrity choreographer will be walking free after spending more than a month in jail. He was arrested from Goa last month after a woman filed a complaint against him for sexual harassment.

When Jani Master was granted bail for National Awards

Jani Master was earlier granted interim bail earlier this month for a period of four days. The Rangareddy district court had granted the same so that the choreographer can attend the National Film Awards ceremony scheduled for October 8. He was granted bail for four days from October 6. Sheik Jani Basha alias Jani Master was to receive the award for his choreography in the song 'Megham Karukkatha' from the film 'Thiruchitrambalam'. However, after the court order, the National Film Awards Cell under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting revoked the award as he was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The invitation extended to the choreographer for the function was also withdrawn.

21-year-old female choreographer accuses Jani Master of rape

Last month, a female choreographer accused Jani Master of sexual assault. Cyberabad police had arrested him in Goa on September 19 and a court in Hyderabad remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks. The court on September 25 sent him to police custody for four days.

The victim, now 21, alleged that the choreographer first raped her in 2019. She told police that he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Police had initially booked him for rape, criminal intimidation, and assault, and had recorded the statement of the complainant. She was also sent for a medical examination.

The investigators have gathered all the details from her under the supervision of officials from the Bharosa Centre. She reportedly told police that she did not reveal anything so far as she was threatened by the accused.

The Raidurgam police of Cyberabad on September 15 booked a zero First Information Report (FIR) against Jani Master, whose real name is Sheik Jani Basha. Subsequently, the FIR was transferred to Narsingi Police Station, which registered a case and took up an investigation.

The complainant told police that she came in contact with the choreographer in 2017 and became an assistant to him in 2019. She alleged that Jani sexually assaulted her multiple times during their shoots in different cities, including Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, the victim has also approached the State Women's Commission. Commission chairperson Sharada Nerella said the Commission would try its best to get justice for her. She said the Commission would also ask the film industry to constitute a high-level committee in the film industry to deal with sexual harassment cases as sought by the fraternity.