Andhra Pradesh’s ruling coalition partner Jana Sena has decided to keep choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, popularly known as Jani Master, away from party activities, hours after he was booked for sexually assaulting a woman.
The Jana Sena, led by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and actor Pawan Kalyan, took the decision on Monday after a case was registered against Jani Master in Hyderabad.
V. Ajay Kumar, head, Conflict Management, Jana Sena, said in a statement that the decision will come into effect immediately.
The Raidurgam police of Cyberabad booked a zero FIR against Jani Master on allegations of sexually assaulting a woman, who is also a choreographer.
Subsequently, the FIR was transferred to Narsingi Police Station, which registered a case and took up an investigation. Jani Master has been booked for rape and criminal intimidation.
The woman, aged 21, alleged in her complaint that Jani Master sexually assaulted her multiple times. She came in contact with the choreographer in 2017 and she became an assistant to him in 2019.
The complainant said that Jani Master sexually assaulted her multiple times during their shoots in different cities, including Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The victim alleged that he sexually assaulted her once when they had gone to Mumbai. He had allegedly that he raped her in a shooting vehicle and threatened her against revealing this to anyone.
She also claimed that he assaulted her at her residence in Narsingi several times.
The woman also told police that she faced a threat to her life from the choreographer. She said on August 28 she found a suspicious parcel in front of her residence and “this is your last shooting” was written on it. She said the accused had threatened to make sure that she did not get any work opportunities.
In 2019, Jani Master was sentenced to six months in jail by a local court in Medchal in a case relating to a brawl at a college in 2015. He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to assault on a woman, causing hurt, and criminal intimidation. However, the Medchal court quashed the assault charge and sentenced him to six months under the remaining sections.
In June, Satish, a dancer, had filed a complaint against Jani Master with the Raidurgam police station. Satish accused Jani of harassment, claiming that the choreographer was preventing him from securing work in film shoots. However, the choreographer refuted these allegations. In January this year, Jani Master had joined Jana Sena in the presence of Pawan Kalyan.