POCSO accused Jani Master and Zee Telugu slammed for allowing him on show with minors: ‘Absolutely disgusting’

In 2024, Jani Master was booked under the POCSO act after his assistant alleged abuse. Zee Telugu is now getting slammed for allowing him on the show Aata.

Dance choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, better known as Jani Master, was arrested in 2024 after his assistant alleged sexual abuse when she was a minor. He was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and later released on bail. He and Zee Telugu are now receiving flak for bringing him on as a judge on the dance show Aata, which also features minors.

Jani Master and his wife Ayesha recently made an appearance on the Valentine's special episode of Aata.

Internet calls out Jani Master and Zee Telugu for allowing him on show with minors

Zee Telugu also featured Jani’s wife, Ayesha, on the show Aata as part of its Valentine’s Week special. When it released promos for the newly launched show on its social media, the internet began questioning why the choreographer was allowed on a show with minors.

“Shame on you @ZeeTVTelugu. Bringing The POCSO case accused @AlwaysJani (Jani master) in to the Aata show (minors are participants)as judge is absolutely disgusting. (vomit emoji) Who the hell is the producer of this show? #RapistJani,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user.

One even wrote, “Shame on you @ZeeTVTelugu. Bringing The pocso case accused Jani master in to the Aata show as judge is absolutely disgusting,” to which another X user replied, “TFI ki siggu unda first anni pedda projects etla ostunaya emo asal vadiki (Telugu film industry has no shame to give him big projects).”

One X user posted a clip of Jani speaking about choreographing the Ram Charan song Chikiri from Peddi on the show, writing, “How is this rap!st leading a normal life?? Without any shame??” Some wrongly claimed that Chiranjeevi’s niece, Niharika Konidela, who was also a judge on the show alongside Radhika Sarathkumar, was the show’s producer, blaming her and leaving comments like, “Ask Niharika.”

Jani Master’s POCSO case

A 21-year-old female assistant choreographer filed a case against Jani, and an FIR was filed in September 2024. She accused him of sexually abusing her in 2019 and 2020 when she was a minor while she was working with him. He was booked for sexual assault, criminal intimidation, and voluntarily causing hurt under the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

He was arrested by the police in Goa the same month and granted interim bail in October 2024 to receive a National Award. Jani received regular bail later that month after the award was revoked. In November 2025, singer Chinmayi Sripaada wrote on X that Jani and his wife Ayesha ‘are 100% sure of being proven innocent’ in court, stating that his wife asks him not to speak about the issue.