A 34-year-old driver of Shahrukh Khan has been arrested on charges of raping a 17-year-old maid servant after promising her that he would get her job in the actor’s house.
Identifying the arrested driver as Rajendra Gautam alias Pintu Mishra, a resident of Asalpha village at Andheri, the Bandra police admitted that he allegedly raped the minor girl – who comes from a poor family residing at latur in drought-prone Marthwada region of Maharashtra – in a hotel room at Nallasopara in far-flung Northern suburbs of Mumbai, last week.
Gautam allegedly perpetrated sexual assault on the victim – who had earlier worked as a maid at the residence of yesteryear’s actress Sangeeta Bijalani – on the intervening night of June 20-21.
Acting on a complaint lodged belatedly by the traumatised girl on Wednesday evening, the Bandra police arrested Gautam immediately afterwards. He was produced before the Bandra metropolitan court on Thursday, which remanded in police custody till July 1.
Gautam has been booked under Section 376 (rape), 366 A (procreation of a minor girl) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
According to police, Gautam has been employed as a driver at Shahrukh Khan’s bungalow ‘Mannat” on the Bandra Sea Face for last seven years. “Gautam was not a personal driver of the actor. But, he used to drive one of the cars from the actor’s fleet of vehicles. He used to occasionally drive the actor’s Suhana and Aryan to school,” sources in Khan’s firm Red Chillies Entertainment said.
A few weeks ago, Gautam got acquainted with the victim girl, who had been employed at the house of actress Sangeet Bijlani for five months.Soon after getting friendly with the victim girl, the accused driver attempted to lure the victim girl with an offer of a new job and better salary with Khan.When Gautam reportedly telephoned Bijlani’s residence and offered the victim girl a new job at Khan’s bungalow, it was the yesteryear actress who answered the telephone call. Bijalani later got to know the job offer made to her maid.
Angered by her maid’s move to quit the job at her home, Bijalani sacked the victim girl forthwith and settled her dues. “Gautam later met the victim girl and consoled her, by promising her job at “Mannat” once the actor returned from an out-station assignment,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivajirao Kolekar said.
Kolekar said that on June 20, Gautam took the victim girl to Nallasopara on the pretext of finding accommodation for her. At Nallasophara, they stayed in a lodge, where Gautam allegedly raped her.After allegedly perpetrating the sexual assault on her, Gautam threatened her with dire consequence if she reported the matter to others. He asked her to return to latur.Having returned to Mumbai on June 21, the victim – though in an extremely traumatic State of mind — mustered courage and lodged a complaint with the Bandra police on Wednesday evening. The police arrested the accused driver immediately afterwards.