The Telangana High Court on Thursday, October 24, granted conditional bail to Tollywood choreographer Jani Master in a case of alleged sexual assault on a female colleague.
The Rangareddy district court had earlier granted interim bail on October 3 to Jani Master permitting him to receive the National Film Award at the 70th National Film Award function scheduled to be held in Delhi on 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 The invitation extended to the choreographer for the function was also withdrawn.
In September 2024, a 21-year-old female choreographer accused Jani Master of sexual assault. According to police, the victim alleged that Jani Master sexually assaulted her in 2020 (when she was 17 years old) during a work trip to Mumbai and continued sexual harassment and threatened not to disclose to anyone. The complainant told police that she came in contact with the choreographer in 2017 and she became an assistant to him in 2019.
The Raidurgam police of Cyberabad on September 15 booked a zero First Information Report (FIR). Subsequently, the case was re-registered at Narsingi Police Station The accused was booked for rape, criminal intimidation, and assault under sections 376 (2) (n), 506 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 5 (l) read with 6 of the POCSO Act was also added to the charges. The victim, now 21, alleged that the choreographer sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in different cities, including Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Cyberabad police had arrested Jani Master in Goa on September 19 and a court in Hyderabad sent him to judicial custody. He was also questioned by the police for four days.
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