Court asks Mumbai Police to conduct probe against actor Raveena Tandon

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The Borivali Magistrate Court on Monday directed Mumbai Police to conduct an inquiry against actor Raveena Tandon under section 202 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) on a complaint filed by social activist Mohsin Shaikh.

The actor, through her lawyer, accused Shaikh of being an extortionist as he did not delete the video of Tandon's brawl at Bandra from his X account, despite her asking him to do so.

The court also questioned why the actor's lawyer is not made an accused in the case. To this, Shaikh's lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan stated that once the police report is filed before the court, he would also be made a party to the criminal case if the need arises.

In June, the actor's driver was reversing the car inside a society in Bandra when four family members walking on the road stopped him. The family started arguing with the driver, insisting that he should check if there are people standing or walking behind before taking a reverse. When Tandon tried to protect her driver, the mob attacked and abused her, the police had stated in June.

The police had then stated that the complainant in the case filed a false complaint against the actor and also created fake videos.

Speaking with mid-day, a senior Mumbai Police officer had stated, "The complainant gave a false complaint in the alleged video. We checked the entire CCTV footage of the society and found that the actress's driver was reversing the car from the road into the society when this family was crossing the same lane. The family stopped the car and told the driver that he should check if people are behind the car before reversing. This argument started between them."

Raveena Tandon had issued defamation notice in the case

"This argument escalated into abusive language, and actress Raveena Tandon arrived at the spot to check what had happened with her driver. The actress tried to protect the driver from the mob; however, the mob started abusing her. Both Raveena Tandon and the family went to the Khar police station and gave written complaints. Later, they both also submitted letters stating they did not want to register any complaints," the official said.

He further stated, "Nobody was injured in this incident. We checked the CCTV footage, and the car did not hit anyone."

Later, the actor sent a defamation notice to Shaikh, who claimed to be a journalist and had recorded the video that went viral on social media.

In her notice, Tandon claimed that the intent behind continuously spreading these falsehoods seems to be rooted in extortion and a desire to gain cheap publicity at the expense of her dignity. The actor also demanded damages worth Rs 100 crore for defaming her.

However, Shaikh claimed the the actor had asked him to hand over the videos to him, on the pretext of a police probe. "She insisted I delete the tweet, citing instructions from politicians. She promised no further allegations if I complied, but my lawyer Ali Kashif Khan advised against it, citing it as evidence. This angered her, leading to a defamation notice," he added.

The next hearing in the case is in January.