Delhi woman rape case: Karim Morani to be in judicial custody till October 6

Delhi woman rape case: Karim Morani to be in judicial custody till October 6
Bollywood producer Karim Morani will be in judicial custody till October 6 in the rape case of a Delhi-based 25-year-old woman.

Morani surrendered before the Hayathnagar police on Saturday midnight. He was produced before the VII metropolitan magistrate Court at Hayathnagar on Saturday evening.

Morani has been sent to Cherlapally jail on the city outskirts. When Mirror correspondent sought his reaction, he said, "One of my people will represent me in a day or two. It is a sensitive matter."

Hayathnagar police have filed a petition seeking seven days custody of Morani. Hayathnagar police inspector J Narender Goud said "We need to question him," he said. "He came to the police station at 11.45 pm along with his brother Mohammed Morani and surrendered before us as per the Supreme Court order", Goud told Mirror.

The court heard the versions of the police and Morani counsel and reserved it's decision for September 27. Before being taken to court from Hayathnagar police station, Karim Morani claimed that he had been fabricated in the rape and cheating case. "I have not done the crime. I am not accepting the charges by police," he said when asked if he would accept the police case against him. At the court, his brother Mohammed Morani and three women relatives stood by him. His lawyers were ready with a bail petition, to file soon after he is produced before the magistrate.


Morani was taken to Gandhi Hospital for medical check-up before producing him in the court today afternoon

Morani was taken to Gandhi Hospital for medical check-up before producing him in the court today afternoon


Did not deny technical evidence

Sources told Mirror that Karim Morani denied all the charges mentioned in the first information report. However, he did not deny the technical evidences available with the police during interrogation with brief intervals since midnight of Saturday.
According sources, Morani did confirm that he knew the woman and was in touch with her. However, he refused having an intimate relationship with her.

When the police confronted him with technical evidence that included emails, WhatsApp chat and calls, he confirmed. "The technical evidence does not have any hint of Morani threatening the complainant," a source said.

Morani surrended after getting directions from Supreme Court

Morani surrendered before the Hayathnagar police in Hyderabad on Friday late night. Refusing him anticipatory bail, the Supreme Court had directed him to surrender before the Hayathnagar police in Hyderabad immediately. Morani was taken to Gandhi Hospital for medical check-up before producing him in the court on Saturday.

A three-judge bench, comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, dismissed his appeal challenging the cancellation of his anticipatory bail by the Hyderabad High Court.

The Hayathnagar police has registered a case against Morani in January this year under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 417 (cheating) and Section 354C of Nirbhaya Act (the Criminal Law Amendment Act).

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According to the Hyderabad police, they have collected enough evidence to nail Morani, and the charge sheet would be ready soon. Apart from call detail records and WhatsApp chats, the police also claim to have evidence of Morani summoning the complainant to Hyderabad in January this year. A senior police officer said that they had stayed a hotel at the Ramoji Film Studio.

Morani is also an accused in the 2G scam case.

Victim’s counsel expresses concern about her client’s safety

The woman's lawyer, Karuna Nundy, told Mirror yesterday that she was concerned about the safety of her client. "I am concerned about the safety of the survivor of Morani's repeated sexual assaults, as he threatened that his underworld people would eliminate her if she failed to comply with his demands."

In January this year, a 25-year-old woman from Delhi had filed an FIR in Hyderabad against Morani, alleging that he had raped her several times between June 2016 and January 2017.


The 25-year-old woman, an MBA student, said that she first met Morani at a wedding in Delhi in December 2015. The woman, an aspiring actor, was a friend of the bride. Morani and the complainant kept in touch, and, in her complaint, she said that Morani had invited her to a party in Mumbai and violated her after sedating her. He, then, threatened to upload her nude photographs (shot when she was unconscious) onto social media if she complained to the police. She alleged that Morani summoned her to Mumbai several times, and in January this year, the two met in Hyderabad.

Karim Morani is one of the high profile Morani brothers, who started out as decorators at Bollywood events in the 1980s, and went on to become popular event managers and ultimately, producers. Morani runs one of the Hindi film industry's biggest event management companies and organises some of the most high profile award ceremonies in Bollywood today.


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