Mumbai/New Delhi: Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw has filed his detailed reply before the Dindoshi Sessions Court in Mumbai, opposing the criminal revision application filed by actress Sapna Gill in the alleged molestation case.
Terming Gill’s plea as “false and vexatious”, Shaw urged the court to dismiss her application, contending that it had been filed with the sole intention of maligning his public image and harassing him by misusing his celebrity status.
In their submissions before the sessions court, Shaw and his friend Ashish Yadav have categorically denied the allegations levelled by Sapna Gill.
Placing on record a chronological account of the events of February 15, 2023, they said that at around 1 a.m. on February 15, 2023, they were having dinner at the ‘Mansion Club’ at Sahara Star Hotel in the Santacruz area of Mumbai when Shobhit Thakur approached Shaw requesting a selfie.
Placing on record a chronological account of the events of February 15, 2023, they stated that at around 1 a.m., while dining at the ‘Mansion Club’ in the Sahara Star Hotel in the Santacruz area of Mumbai, one Shobhit Thakur approached Shaw and requested a selfie.
Shaw initially obliged out of courtesy, but the person, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, began insisting on multiple selfies and started behaving rudely when refused. He was subsequently escorted out of the club by the security staff.
The reply further stated that after dinner, as Shaw and Yadav were leaving in their BMW, the same individual allegedly struck the car’s windshield with a baseball bat.
Owing to security concerns, Prithvi Shaw was immediately shifted to another vehicle. They alleged that Sapna Gill and her associates then chased them and intercepted them near the Oshiwara Police Station.
It is alleged that Sapna Gill got out of her car, abused them verbally, and threatened to file a false molestation case if Rs 50,000 was not paid. She later left the spot, the reply claimed.
Shaw and Yadav have submitted that Sapna Gill, “a struggling actress”, fabricated the entire incident for publicity and extortion. They have contended that her complaint is a counterblast to the FIR earlier lodged by them.
As per the respondents, an FIR had already been registered at the Oshiwara Police Station on February 15, 2023, under IPC Sections 143, 148, 149, 384, 427, 504 and 506, following which Sapna Gill and one of her associates were arrested.
After obtaining bail, Sapna Gill allegedly filed the present complaint out of personal vendetta, they claimed. The reply also highlighted that the magistrate, upon finding no prima facie case, had ordered an inquiry under Section 202 of the CrPC. During the inquiry, statements of five eyewitnesses were recorded, none of whom supported the allegations made by Sapna Gill.
Shaw and Yadav have requested the sessions court to dismiss the criminal revision application with compensatory costs.
Meanwhile, appearing for Sapna Gill, advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh alleged that Shaw had failed to file his reply despite repeated opportunities granted by the court.
“In the criminal revision application and petition filed on behalf of my client, the court had given Prithvi Shaw several opportunities to file his reply. Since he failed to do so, on the previous date the court imposed a fine of Rs 100 and warned that if the reply was not filed on the next date, the matter would be heard ex parte and a further fine of Rs 200 or more could be imposed,” Deshmukh said.
(IANS)
