Actress Files Rape, Sexual Assault Complaint Against Industrialist Sajjan Jindal

An actress has filed a rape complaint against industrialist Sajjan Jindal, the Managing Director of JSW Steel, Hindustan Times reported. The complaint was registered on Wednesday at the BKC police station.

As per the complaint, she was raped in the penthouse at the company's head office at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in January 2022. She has accused the BKC Police of refusing to register a complaint earlier this year and registered it only after the court's order.

She had first met Jindal in October 2021 in Dubai. They were both in the VIP box of a stadium, watching an IPL match. Subsequently, they met again in Jaipur at the wedding of MP Praful Patel's son, the alleged victim said.

He started getting personal following their meeting in Mumbai. "We had exchanged numbers and met in Mumbai because he had expressed interest in buying property from my brother who is a real estate consultant in Dubai," the daily quoted the woman as saying in the complainant.

"He started addressing me as 'babe' and 'baby', and described all the problems in his marriage when we first met alone, which made me very awkward."

She also got uncomfortable with his overtures like hugs and flirting. Despite being a married man, he expressed romantic feelings for her in her text messages, she said.

"He also tried to kiss me and talked about getting physically intimate, which I shot down, saying that could happen only after we were married," she said.

In January 2022, during a meeting at the company's headquarters, Jindal escorted the actress to the penthouse. Despite her continuous objections and refusals, she claimed that Jindal raped her. Even after the rape incident, she tried to have friendship but he blocked her number. "Before blocking my number in June 2022, he threatened me with dire consequences if I approached the police," she added.

She lodged the complaint on February 13. As no action was taken, she sought recourse from the Bombay High Court earlier in the year. The court, in response, requested a statement from the police. The police assured that they would initiate the process of registering an FIR, which was eventually filed on Wednesday.

The case has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman, intending to outrage her modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.