Dance choreographer Jani Master arrested in Goa

Hyderabad: Renowned dance choreographer Jani Master, who was accused of sexual assault by a woman he worked with, has been arrested in Goa.

Jani Master, whose real name is Shaik Jani, was arrested by the Cyberabad police in Goa and will be produced before a local court, a senior police official said.

He is being taken to Hyderabad after receiving a transit order from the Goa court.

The victim hails from Madhya Pradesh. She claimed that the assault took place during location shoots in Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad and at her residence in Narsingi.

What are the allegations?

In her complaint, the victim stated that she came to Hyderabad from her native place in 2017 and was selected as a contestant in Dhee-ll in Hyderabad. When she participated in the television show Dhee 12 a, she was introduced to Jani Master aka Shaik Jani Basha. She received a call from Jani Master's team to assist him as an assistant choreographer. In 2019, she joined Jani Master's team as an assistant choreographer.

Whenever she left Hyderabad for shooting, her mother did not travel with her as there were no tickets, no accommodation etc. and so they got a call from a project in Mumbai for which she had to travel to Mumbai along with Jani Master and two other male assistants.

While staying at a hotel in Mumbai, Jani Master sexually abused her and threatened her not to tell anyone or she would be fired and would no longer be able to work in the industry. Out of fear, she had to remain silent and then he harassed her multiple times during each shoot, the victim said.

The victim also said that Jani asked Master for sexual favours in the vanity van, when she entered the vanity van, he removed his pants and molested her on the set in front of everyone by touching her inappropriately. “When I entered a vanity van, he demanded sexual pleasure and when I refused, he held me by my hair and pressed my head against the mirror. Later, he started visiting my home late at night, ransacking my house and destroying scooty and he forced me to come out but I never agreed to all this. He pressurised me to change my beliefs and marry him,” she said.

After some of these cases, when the victim was working alone, Jani Master and his wife came to her home and forcefully forced her to open the door. They went inside and started questioning her about her religion and Jani Master's wife hit her multiple times, she said. Jani Master does not allow her to work alone or come on other projects as an opportunity. Jani Master used to go to a victim's workplace and started threatening her by sending everyone outside. He pressured her to go with him and marry him immediately and he threatened her that she would not be allowed in the industry.

“On August 17, when I was going to her house from the temple, an unknown person threatened me and threatened me with my future. On August 28, I got a strange package hanging on my doorstep with no name on it, with a message saying 'Congratulations on your son, but be very careful'. At first, they hired me for most of the shootings, but soon after work, I got a call and they informed me that they were going out with someone else instead of her. Therefore, I request the police to take necessary action against Jani Master,” the victim said.

Case registered

Raidurgam police did not register an FIR on her complaint and forwarded it to Narsingi police station on Sunday evening as she resides there.

According to police, proceedings have also been initiated against the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce launched investigation

Meanwhile, a committee appointed by the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has also launched an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment against Jani Master.

Tammareddy Bharadwaj, a member of the committee, said the panel would have to submit a report on the issue within 90 days of receiving the victim's complaint. Damodar Prasad, chairman of the sexual harassment redressal panel set up by the film chamber, said a notice has been sent to the Telugu Film and TV Dancers and Dance Directors Association not to let Jani Master perform his duties as president until he is cleared of all allegations.

Telangana State Commission for Women Chairperson Nerella Sharada on Wednesday said the complainant in the case had approached the commission. She said orders would be issued to provide police protection to her. The commission would also provide her with necessary assistance on behalf of the body, Sharada said. The issue also took on a political colour when Telangana State BJP Mahila Morcha issued a statement saying the party considered it a case of 'love jihad'.

The Jana Sena party led by Pawan Kalyan has asked Jani Master to stay away from its programmes in view of the case pending against him.

Jani Master campaigned for the party in the recently concluded elections.

Who is Jani Master?

Jani Master has choreographed more than 150 songs for the Telugu and Tamil film industries. He has also worked in the Kannada and Hindi film industries. His choreography style is a mix of western and folk dances.

Jani Master won the National Film Award for Best Choreographer of the year 2024.