They are stars with a huge fan following, but some of them have been caught on the wrong side of the law, and even spent time in jail. In recent years, quite a few Bollywood celebrities seem to be having issues with the law.
Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari (sang the popular song ‘Sun Raha Hai Na’ from ‘Aashiqui 2’) is the latest addition to list of celebrities who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Ankit Tiwari was arrested for allegedly raping his female friend on several occasions for over a year on the pretext of marriage. A few weeks earlier, actor Inder Kumar was arrested for apparently raping and abusing a 23-year-old model on the pretext of helping her get roles in films.
Here we take a look at other celebrities who have spent time in jail or have cases pending against them.
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt was convicted for illegal possession of weapons in November 2006 during the Mumbai blasts in 1993.
Verdict: The Supreme Court convicted Sanjay Dutt under the Arms Act and was sentenced to 5 years of jail. The actor is currently serving time in jail.
Shiney Ahuja
This one has been in the news for quite some time now. On 14th June 2009, Shiney Ahuja was detained by the Oshiwara police after his maid lodged an FIR alleging the actor raped her while they were alone in his flat. Initially, Shiney claimed that the act was consensual but later admitted to rape.
Verdict: Despite the maid turning hostile, a Sessions Court here, relying on circumstantial evidence, convicted Shiney in 2011 and awarded him seven years rigorous imprisonment. Shiney’s appeal against his conviction is pending in the Bombay High Court and the actor is presently out on bail.
Salman Khan
I’m sure his fans would be keeping their fingers crossed as the case is in progress. On September 28, 2002, Salman’s Toyota Land Cruiser, allegedly being driven by him, rammed into a bakery in suburban Bandra, killing one and injuring four others who were sleeping on the pavement.
Verdict: Salman was formally charged with culpable homicide in the case, to which he pleaded not guilty. The trial is currently going on. If convicted, Salman Khan could face up to ten years in jail.
Earlier, he was also involved in a poaching case, involving a Chinkara (endangered species) at Bhawad near Jodhpur, during the shooting of film Hum Saath Saath Hain in September 1998. In fact, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu, all of them got into trouble on charges of poaching during the shooting of the Bollywood movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. The lower court had charged Salman Khan under relevant sections of the Wildlife Act, the Arms Act and the IPC. Others, including Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, faced charges under the Wildlife act and the IPC.
Verdict: Salman was convicted under the Wild Life Act. On 10 April 2006, he was handed a five-year jail term and remanded to Jodhpur jail until 13th April, when he was granted bail.
John Abraham
Not many are aware of this, but John’s motorbike had skid and knocked down two people in suburban Khar on April 7, 2006. John was booked for rash driving.
Verdict: The actor was released on probation under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. However, the Bombay High Court upheld the verdict of the trial court which pronounced him guilty in the case. In 2012, the Court asked him to pay a bond of Rs 10,000 and Rs 10,000 each as compensation to the people who were injured in the incident.
Monica Bedi
Monica Bedi, who featured in a few films in the early 1990s, was the girl friend of underworld don Abu Salem. She was later sentenced to a five-year jail term after being convicted in a passport forgery case. She has recently made a comeback in a television serial.
Bharat Shah
At one time, a well-known Bollywood producer, one of his films ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’ came under the scanner for being funded by underworld money. Salman Khan and Preity Zinta were part of this film and Preity testified in court. Bharat Shah was sentenced to one year in jail for withholding information about the Bollywood-underworld connection. After fourteen months he was set free.
Fardeen Khan
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Fardeen in Juhu on May 5, 2001 for purchasing ‘stuff’ from a certain, Nasir Abdul Karim (also a co-accused). As per Indian laws, possession of less than two grams of contraband substance is considered a small quantity and attracts imprisonment up-to six-months or a fine. If it is more than two grams, the maximum punishment is 10 years.
Verdict: In 2012, a special court granted Fardeen Khan immunity from prosecution.
Saif Ali Khan
An assault case was filed in 2012 against Saif Ali Khan, and his two friends, by a South-Africa-based businessman Iqbal Sharma.
Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan was involved in a scuffle with officials and security staff at Wankhede stadium. Security guard Vikas Dalvi filed a non-cognisable offence against the actor for causing hurt and intentional insult with intent to breach peace. However, no action was taken against the actor as the case was non-cognisable. SRK was banned from the entering the stadium by the Mumbai Cricket Association for five years.
Aditya Motwane (Celebrity Wedding Planner
Mumbai’s top wedding planner held in UAE for carrying drugs, could face four years in jail.
Aditya Motwane, among Mumbai’s top wedding planners, was intercepted for suspected consumption of a narcotic substance and detained. A search of his bags later revealed a small packet containing drugs. His blood test confirmed the presence of banned substances. Aditya was held at Abu Dhabi’s Al Wathba prison.
“This is a very serious issue as the accused has been apprehended with banned substances. He will be produced before a court soon and then given a chance to engage a lawyer,” an airport official.
“UAE exercises zero tolerance for drugs-related offences. UAE airports have the most advanced airport security technology capable of detecting even residual amounts of drugs,” says advocate Anjana Bhatia, who practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Mumbai.
If the charges are proved, Aditya Motwane could be jailed for minimum four years, reports MumbaiMirror.
Aditya Motwane heads Motwane Entertainment and Weddings, and is among Mumbai’s top wedding planners. He has arranged big-fat, destination weddings for Arpita Khan and Ayush Sharma in Hyderabad, Jindal and Jasani wedding in Austria, Hinduja and Mahtani wedding in Jaipur, and many more.
None of the extended Motwane family in Mumbai was willing to comment on the arrest. His girlfriend singer Manasi Scott too refused to take a call from this newspaper.
Salman Khan’s co-star Bhagyashree booked in hit and run case
Bike rider, injured by actress Bhagyashree’s car, alleges police inaction. Cops contradict their own FIR and say not Bhagyashree, but her driver was at the wheel. The actresses lawyers are planning to file a case of blackmailing and extortion against the biker.
While Bhagyashree’s co-star Salman Khan’s car actually killed (& maimed) people sleeping on the footpath (Salman Khan was acquitted by the Bombay High Court), Bhagyashree’s car that was involved in a car accident caused minor injuries to a biker.
While Bhagyashree thought it was a minor accident and assumed that it won’t blow out of proportion, the case is now all over the media.
So what exactly happened?
In December 2006, a case was booked at Santacruz police station by Santacruz resident Mohammed Nausif Shaikh, who was allegedly hit by Bhagyashree’s car on November 2, 2016. Shaikh was standing at a traffic signal in SV Road with his bike around 3 pm, when the actress’ car, a white Skoda allegedly came in full speed, ignoring the red light and knocked him down, fracturing his left leg.
The victim has alleged that Bhagyashree’s husband Himalaya Dasani had come to meet him after he admitted himself in a hospital. Dasani had allegedly admitted to him in the hospital that the actress was behind the wheel, and Shaikh has even mentioned it in his FIR.
It seems the police registered a weak case and didn’t invoke sections 134 A (duty of driver in case of accident and injury to a person) and B (give on demand by a police officer any information required by him, or, if no police officer is present, report the circumstances of the occurrence) of the Motor Vehicles Act, despite the actress allegedly driving away from the spot and not helping the victim or informing the police.
Salman Khan & Bhagyashree in Dil Deewana song from Maine Pyar Kiya
However, the police are reportedly denying hearing such a thing from the complainant and have not arrested anyone in the case as yet. The police are also saying that the actress, in her statement, has said that her driver was driving the car at the time of the accident. The police have also claimed that they have not found any CCTV footage of the incident so far and hence they are unable to speed up investigations due to lack of witness in the case.
Himalaya Dasani has claimed that it was not the actress but their driver, who was behind the wheel on the day of the incident. He has further alleged that the victim is trying to blackmail them and extort money, even though they have taken care of all his medical expenses. Urging the media to ‘not encourage such kind of people,’ Dasani has also threatened to file a case of blackmailing and extortion against the victim soon.
Is it that our celebs are trying to ape the west, like their wild rappers, pop stars or drunk Hollywood actors? Or is it that most celebrities think they’re above the law? Let us know what you think…
