Preeti Jain, a model and actor who had accused filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar of rape on the pretext of marriage and movie roles, has been sentenced to three years of imprisonment for hatching a conspiracy to eliminate the director.
Jain was accused of hiring gangster Naresh Pardeshi belonging to Arun Gawli gang to kill the National Award winning filmmaker. Pardeshi was sentenced to three years jail whereas his associate Shivaram Das will serve a two-year jail term. Here’s all you need to know about the high-profile incident.
July 2004: Preeti Jain, an aspiring actor, accuses Madhur Bhandarkar of repeatedly raping her between 1999 and 2004 after promising her of marriage and casting as a heroine in his films. The starlet also claimed she had SMSes through which the filmmaker threatened her with dire consequences. Bhandarkar had won his first National Award for Chandni Bar.
(L-R) Madhur Bhandarkar, Atul Kulkarni, Tabu and producer R Mohan on the set of Chandni Bar.
September 2005: Jain reportedly hired Naresh Pardeshi, a hitman of dreaded gangster Arun Gawli to eliminate Bhandarkar. She is believed to have paid Rs 75,000 as an advance payment but the plot fails. When she asked for a refund, Gawli’s henchmen informed the police. A case was filed in the matter and Jain is arrested.
November 2009: A special court in Mumbai directed commencement of trial in the case. Jain welcomed the decision, saying she was happy that the investigation would be done under the court’s supervision.
Preeti Jain outside Andheri court in Mumbai six years ago.
September 2011: The court asks Bhandarkar to face trial in the case. However, he was granted anticipatory bail after two months.
March 2012: Bombay High Court rejected the filmmaker’s plea on staying the criminal proceedings against him in the rape case.
April 2012: Supreme Court put an interim stay on the criminal proceedings against Madhur Bhandarkar.
November 2012: After nearly eight years, Preeti Jain informed the apex court that she is no longer interested in pursuing the case any further. The Supreme Court quashed the case against the director.
