Madhur Bhandarkar-Preeti Jain case: Five things we know so far

Preeti Jain had filed a rape case against film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar in 2004. A year later she plotted the killing, said prosecution

Mumbai The city civil and sessions court on Friday sentenced model Preeti Jain to three years in jail and fined her Rs10,000 for plotting to murder film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar, against whom she had earlier registered a rape case.

A file photo of Preeti Jain with Madhur Bhandarkar. (HT File)

Here are the five things we know about the case:

Jail, but out on bail: While two of Jain’s associates – Naresh Pardeshi and Shivram Das – have been sentenced to three years jail on charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting crime, two others from Uttar Pradesh were acquitted for lack of evidence. Jain, Pardeshi and Das have been granted bail on cash surety of Rs15,000. They have been given four weeks to file an appeal in the Bombay high court.

No cash back, here: The prosecution claimed Jain approached Pardeshi to eliminate Bhandarkar in 2005, almost a year after she filed a rape case against the filmmaker. She allegedly paid Rs75,000 for the job. However, as the task was not completed, she asked for her money back. The issue reached Gawli, who then sent his men to alert the police.

The D connection: The Mumbai police initially dragged gangster Arun Gawli in the case. However, he was let off as there was no evidence against him. Jain allegedly paid Rs75,000 to Pardeshi. Pardeshi’s aide Das arranged for a man from UP to execute the killing.

Moving on: After the court verdict: Bhandarkar tweeted: “Somethings are better left unsaid! Somethings are better left as they are. Life moves on, so have I.”