Rape case against Jackky Bhagnani, other Bollywood figures closed as police find no evidence

(From left) Actor Jackky Bhagnani. Pic/Instagram/jackkybhagnani (middle) Photographer Colston Julian. Pic/Instagram/colstonjulian (right) Talent manager Anirban Blah. Pic/Instagram/anirbanblah

Three years after investigating a high-profile rape and molestation case filed against top Bollywood personalities including photographers and actors, the Bandra police filed a closure report citing various reasons including the ‘inconsistency' in the allegations made by the complainant who is a model-turned-independent artist and songwriter.

A total of 12 people, including film photographer Colston Julian, Anirban Blah, founder of talent management company Kwan Entertainment, actors Jackky Bhagnani, Krishan Kumar Nikhil Kamat, Sheel Gupta, Ajit Thakur, Gurjot Singh and Vishnu Induri, were booked on May 26, 2021 by the Bandra police.

In May, the Bandra police filed an ‘A summary report' and closed the case. An officer, who studied the case thoroughly, told mid-day that "Most of the time she remained unavailable despite sending her summons to join us in the investigation. We had also requested her to submit her mobile phone, but she did not give it to us for forensic analysis," the officer said.

"We had to investigate with the vague details she had mentioned. For example, the year was mentioned, but not the exact date and time; the area of the alleged offence was mentioned, but not the precise location where we can go to enquire and collect evidence. Our officers faced a lot of difficulties because of non-cooperation on the part of the complainant," said a senior officer of the Mumbai police.

One of the men named in the FIR told mid-day that his life and career were ruined for no fault of his own. "I don't want to be named but this case has ruined me to the core and tore me into bits and parts from within." He added, "People stopped giving me work as someone had called and informed about the case to the brands I was associated with. The situation was so bad that my school friends had stopped talking to me."

In May 2021, the model-turned-independent actor first approached the office of deputy commissioner of police, Zone 10 with her complaint against the list of high-profile men. Since the allegations were serious in nature, the zonal DCP asked an officer attached to the Andheri police station to record her statement.

She had alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a dozen influential people including a celebrity photographer, author and others over the years from 2015 to 2021. Since the complainant had claimed that most of the alleged incidents took place in Bandra, the entire matter was transferred to Bandra police station where the cops registered an FIR on May 26.