Jani Master, a Telugu choreographer accused of sexually assaulting a female ex-employee, has confessed, police said.
The choreographer has worked on films like 'Baahubali' and 'Pushpa: The Rise'.
According to reports, the investigation has revealed that the 21-year-old woman first appeared in a dance show, where Jani was one of the judges in 2017. When she appeared in the same show in 2019, she was eliminated. Jani offered her to work for him as his assistant.
The victim flew with Jani to Mumbai in January 2020, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her. Since then, he has taken her along with him on shoots, where he would get a hotel for her and rape her. According to a police inquiry, he exploited her and threatened to deprive her of movie offers.
The allegations against Jani Master were first reported as a zero FIR in Raidurgam and later moved to the jurisdiction of the Narsingi police station.
Jani Master is being accused of violating sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (causing harm) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO). The POCSO charge was added after it was found that the victims age was below 18 during the alleged incidents.
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.
