Madhur to face trial in rape case

Seven years and two police closure reports later, the rape case filed by aspiring Bollywood actor Preeti Jain is back to haunt filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. HT reports.

Seven years and two police closure reports later, the rape case filed by aspiring Bollywood actor Preeti Jain is back to haunt filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, best known for movies such as Chandni Bar, Page 3 and Fashion.

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After the police submitted two reports saying they had no evidence against Bhandarkar, a local court rejected the second report (which concurred with the first) filed in 2009 and directed them to carry out further investigation.

Bhandarkar, however, said, "As the lower court has issued a process against me in a case which has been going on for seven years, I would like to state that we will challenge this order in a higher court and seek justice."

The case dates back to the year 2004 when Jain had alleged that Bhandarkar promised to cast her as the lead in a film and raped her 16 times in five years.

In May 2007, the police filed a 'B' summary report, legally considered as false or malicious information, which said there was no evidence to substantiate Jain's claim.

The court ordered further probe after Jain filed a fresh plea. Bhandarkar has been asked to file a reply and appear in court on October 18.