Pawan Kalyan's political party distances itself from Jani Master after FIR filed for alleged sexual assault

Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party has distanced itself from choreographer Shaik Jani Basa, aka Jani Master after a zero FIR was registered against him. The party released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) after the choreographer who campaigned for them previously was accused of sexual assault. (Also Read: Choreographer Jani Master booked for sexually assaulting 21-year-old colleague ‘multiple times’)

Pawan Kalyan’s political party on Jani Master

The Jana Sena Party’s X page shared a press note in Telugu captioned, “Shree Shaik Jani is away from party activities.” The press note in Telugu reads, “Mr Shaik Jani was ordered to stay away from Jana Sena party activities. The party leadership decided on this after a case was registered against him with the police. The decision comes into effect immediately.”

For the unversed, Jani shares a close relationship with Pawan and had campaigned for him, like many others in the film industry, during the AP elections. He worked with him in the past and rallied his support behind the actor, who is now the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. This decision by Pawan’s party comes after numerous people on the internet questioned if any action would be taken.

What happened

According to PTI, a zero FIR was registered against Jani following allegations of sexual assault by a 21-year-old woman. According to the police, the woman alleged in her complaint that the choreographer assaulted her multiple times. The police booked him under sections 376(2)(n), 506, and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have initiated an investigation.

According to the FIR, the woman stated that she joined Jani Master's team as an assistant choreographer in 2019. "Whenever she travelled outside Hyderabad for shoots, her mother did not accompany her due to the unavailability of tickets and accommodation. For a project in Mumbai, she, along with Jani Master and two other male assistants, travelled to Mumbai. During their stay at a Mumbai hotel, Jani Master allegedly sexually assaulted her and threatened to fire her if she told anyone. She remained silent, but he continued to harass her on multiple occasions during subsequent shoots," the complaint stated.

The complaint also claims that she was threatened not to tell anyone about this in August this year when returning home from a temple.

With inputs from PTI