Jeetendra quashes sexual assault claims by cousin, calls them baseless
In a statement issued by Jeetendra's lawyer, Rizwan Siddiquee, the allegations were called "baseless and ridiculous". The statement read, "Foremost, my client specifically and categorically denies any such incident. Besides even otherwise such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years". The law did not give any person liberties to defame a public figure for hidden personal agendas, said Siddiquee. "The statute has provided a justice delivery system through the courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered", the statement further said. At that time the actor was 28 years old and the cousin was 18. She said that the actor arranged for her to join him on a film shooting schedule in Shimla where he later assaulted her in an inebriated state. The incident took place in 1971 in January. The allegations came amidst the '#MeToo' campaign as a part of which women in Hollywood have come forward and spoken about facing sexual assault at the hands of industry men. -PTC News
