Bollywood blockbuster “Chennai Express” was produced by Karim Morani, who has been booked for allegedly raping a Delhi-based woman on promise of marriage, police said on Wednesday. The case is under sections 417 (cheating), 376 (rape) 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, has been registered.
The victim, 25, alleged that Morani raped her in Mumbai and also at a film studio in Hyderabad in 2015 after promising to marry her. The woman last week lodged a complaint with Hayathnagar police under Rachakonda police commissionerate near Hyderabad.
The woman told police that she was looking for a break in films and had met Morani in 2015 and he took undue advantage of her, exploiting her vulnerabilities. She alleged that the producer after raping her had threatened with dire consequences if she revealed it to anyone.
The producer, however, denied the allegations.
“The complaint is absolutely false and bogus and filed with the sole intention of tarnishing Morani’s reputation and image. Morani will be taking appropriate steps in accordance with law to demonstrate that complaint is mala fide,” Karim’s spokesperson said.
Interestingly, this is not the first time he has been involved in a scandal. The accused producer’s name has been registered in the 2G spectrum scam. He was accused of helping channel funds to the tune of RS 200 crore to popular Tamil television channel Kalaignar TV.
