Bollywood producer Karim Morani remanded in judicial custody for rape

 A Metropolitan Magistrate Court here at Hayatnagar has remanded Bollywood producer Karim Morani accused in a rape case in judicial custody on Saturday. Morani surrendered before the local police on Friday-Saturday night as per the Supreme Court order. He has been shifted to Cherlapally jail.

Earlier, a trial court here had granted him anticipatory bail, which was challenged by the police in High Court. After the High Court cancelled his bail, Morani moved the apex court through his counsel Mukul Rohatgi.

The producer has been facing the charge of repeatedly raping a 25 years old Mumbai based Delhi woman threatening to post her private pictures on social media. According to Hayathnagar police Morani came to the police station at 11.45 PM along with his brother Mohammed Morani and surrendered.

The Hayathnagar police registered a case against Morani in January this year under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 417 (cheating) and Section 354C of Nirbhaya Act (the Criminal Law Amendment Act).

The victim, a native of Delhi and film enthusiast in her complaint to the Hayatnagar police under Rachakonda Police Commissionerate here alleged that the Bollywood producer raped her first time in the month of July 2015 by offering her wine laced with some sedatives. She said that the producer who has taken her nude photos has been blackmailing her since then. The Bollywood producer who acted as a co-producer for his close friends Shahrukh Khan’s Bollywood blockbusters such as RaOne, Chennai Express and Dilawale said to have confined the girl to a hotel room on the outskirts of the city here and raped her several times during the shooting of Dilwale and after.

 The girl said that she escaped his clutches and reached the police station to make her compliant.

The girl in her complaint had said that the blackmail continued for months and Morani continued his assault here and even in Mumbai. She said that Morani threatened her that he would upload the nude photos in social media. The Hayatnagar police who have seized the CC TV camera footage of the hotel then sent the victim for medical examination.

Morani is also facing trial in 2G spectrum allocation scam case probed by CBI and a separate money laundering case by ED. Former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and several others were co-accused in both the two cases.