A metropolitan magistrate P K Choudhury sent Shiney to three days’ police custody, as the actor stood in the court watching the proceedings in a dazed silence. The police have slapped on him three sections— 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 376 (rape)— and if proved guilty, he will be in jail for several years, ruining his film career.
The actor, according to a senior police officer, reportedly broke down during interrogation and admitted to rape. He allegedly threatened his domestic help against shouting, beat her up and raped her in his apartment on Sunday.
The police said Shiney’s wife and infant daughter were not at home on Sunday afternoon. The actor was alone in his home with the maid, and that is when he allegedly raped her. His wife arrived in Mumbai after Shiney was accused of rape. Shiney’s wife Anu said: “He is completely innocent. We will stand by him. We love him. He is a man of character”.
According to police version, the maid complained to her relatives in the evening, who lodged an FIR against Ahuja at the Oshiwara police station in Northwest Mumbai.
The victim is an 18-year-old resident of Vasai, a township close to Mumbai. She has been working at Ahuja’s home for the last 45 days. She has now been moved to a government-run home in Chembur, northeast Mumbai.
In the court, Shiney claimed that it was a consesual sex and there was no force involved in it. The next hearing is posted on Thursday.