Telugu choreographer Jani Master, accused of sexually assaulting a woman ex-employee, has confessed to the crime, police said.
According to the 21-year-old woman, she met Master at an event in 2017. Two years later he offered her a job as an assistant choreographer, which she accepted. The alleged sexual assault took place after that – at a hotel Master and she, and other dancers, were staying in during a Mumbai show.
On Thursday, Master – suspended by the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce and a workers’ union – was taken into custody in Bengaluru and will be shifted to Hyderabad. The choreographer has worked on films like ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Pushpa: The Rise’.
In her complaint, she said Jani Master and two other male assistants had travelled to Mumbai.
The woman said she was normally accompanied by her mother but was not this time since her tickets were not available. The woman has also accused Master of threatening her with physical violence if she filed a complaint, and that he mentally harassed her during photoshoots and rehearsals.
The police in the remand report said the victim, who was 16 at the time, was sexually abused multiple times for four years.
According to the complaint he even forced her to convert to his religion and ‘marry’ him.
On Tuesday, actor Jhansi, the Chairperson of the Chamber’s panel to probe sexual harassment claims told NDTV the allegations against Master – rape and criminal intimidation – will attract charges under the stringent POCSO, or Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Jani Master is also a member of actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, which is allied with the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The Jana Sena has ordered Master to stay away from its political events at this time.
