Mumbai, October 03 : Anupam Ahuja is a much relieved wife. Hubby Shiney Ahuja will finally be released on bail today, following which the couple will leave for Delhi.
A day before, she travelled to Pune to meet Shiney’s lawyer along with film-maker Ashok Pandit, thankful for the support she has got from those like Pandit during those testing times. Pandit too is less stressed but only wishes that the questions hurled at Anupam at this hour were more sensitive. “I’ve had people asking what she’d cook for Shiney when he reaches home! Someone even asked where they’d stay in Delhi making it seem as if Delhi is some remote island that doesn’t even have the basic amenities of life,” Pandit says, a tad angry with the insensitivity of the queries coming in.
Soon he is talking about how he believes that the whole case is a ‘frame-up’ of sorts. “The priority was to first get bail. I am not supporting Shiney since I know his family before he joined the industry. I am supporting him only because I genuinely believe that he is innocent. Shiney is an introvert and I’m sure truth will prevail,” he says, even as he mentions the incongruities that he has come across in the domestic help’s version of the alleged rape slur.
The domestic help had claimed that on June 13, Shiney had touched her ankles when she was standing on the kitchen platform. If that was the case, why did she again return to work to the same house on June 14? On June 13 morning, Anupam and Arshiya (Shiney’s daughter) had left for Delhi. The landline records of Shiney’s telephone show that there were 14 missed calls from her that night. What’s even more intriguing is that the girl herself was speaking on the mobile between 3.15 pm and 3.40 pm on the day the crime had allegedly happened! If the act had happened as the girl had claimed continuously between 3 pm and 5.30 pm, why would she be speaking over the phone then?” Pandit asks, adding, “On being asked why no semen was found on either Shiney or the girl’s clothes, the public prosecutor had said that they were naked. The honorable judge had then said that they must have worn clothes after the act! On being asked why didn’t she shout when she came out of the house, the public prosecutor said that in Mumbai, the neighbours are not bothered. That’s when the judge said that the statements were contradictory since it was one of the neighbours who had taken the girl to the police station!”
What surprises Pandit even more is that the role of Shiney’s neighbours. “The couple — Adarsh Gupta and Sanjit Gupta — had literally forced Anupam to employ this girl. Fact is there was no dire need for her services since the family already had other hired helps. These helps are still working in the same house. It’s the same couple who took the girl to the police station,” Pandit claims.
Life, Pandit says, will take about a month to return to normalcy. “I’ve met Shiney every week. He has lost about seven-eight kilos. So many things have been
written about him. The strangest part was about he exchanging notes with Abu Salem. There are different barracks for various people and there was no way that Shiney could have shared the cell with Salem. As for reports of Ekta Kapoor’s serial being allegedly based on this case, I have grave doubts if Ekta would actually want to cash in on someone’s misfortune. We aren’t thinking of taking any action against the serial,” he says, adding, “Shiney’s work should also resume in a month’s time. It’s not necessary that one needs to shoot in Mumbai. Accident was being shot in Goa. Har Pal is complete and Shiney also has a Hollywood film in the pipeline.”
Meanwhile, Pandit himself has shot a documentary in Kashmir titled Village of Widows. This 30-minute long documentary is based on the victims of terrorism. There is a small village on the Indo-Pak border that’s close to Kupwara. This village only has widows and orphans with no adult male members. Most of the widows are either of terrorists or security forces. My documentary focuses on the plight of these women who are suffering since the government has overlooked them. They live in abject poverty. While the children dream of being doctors and engineers, the reality is very grim,” he says.
If all goes well, Pandit wants to screen this self-produced documentary at the United Nations. “It’s such a serious issue and I want to these voices to be heard internationally. I’d love it if any film festival in Kolkata is interested in screening such a documentary.” Are the authorities listening?
—Agencies