Actor Madhur Mittal gets protection from arrest in sexual assault case

Slumgdog Millionaire actor Madhur Mittal, who was charged with sexually assaulting and battering his former girlfriend, has been granted interim protection from arrest by the Mumbai court. An FIR was filed against Mittal on February 23 at the Khar Police station, accusing him of sexually assaulting and battering his former girlfriend on February 13 at her Mumbai residence. An anticipatory bail application was filed by Madhur, according to which, he proposed to his girlfriend in December when he had visited her in Goa. She came back to Mumbai a week after he did, and had stayed with his family for 4 days. She allegedly also asked him to give her a promise ring, and Madhur agreed, reported India Today.

According to Madhur, the girl had an argument with his mother, after which she left the house and allegedly asked him to look for a house where they could both stay together. He reportedly also alleged that the girl started pressurizing him to share the rent of the apartment where she was staying, and he alleged that she pressurized him to get a joint account in their name. Madhur, who has been shooting in Jaipur, said that the case is hampering his work. He told Bombay Times, “Getting to learn about things which are untrue is extremely disturbing. There have been WhatsApp messages filled with stories that are assassinating my character. These are being forwarded for weeks in casting directors’ groups denying me work. I’m the only earning member of my family since the age of seven and all these reports in the media are affecting me, my family and my career in more ways than you can imagine.”A source close to the accuser said that they had common friends, after which he added her on social media. They got close and the actor asked her out. “They were seeing each other for two months. They parted ways and Madhur couldn’t deal with the breakup. He was shooting in Jaipur. Livid, he landed in Mumbai and entered her Bandra residence on February 13th. Unable to take rejection, he tried to force himself on her. He tried to see her again on the 15th, but the girl’s lawyer Niranjani Shetty asked him to leave the premises, and he complied.”