New Delhi: A case of rape was registered by the police in Mumbai last week against one of India’s top businessmen, Sajjan Jindal of the JSW Group, but only after the woman who levelled the charge was compelled to knock on the doors of Bombay high court to have her complaint investigated.According to the complainant, the alleged incident occurred in January 2022 at the penthouse located atop the JSW Group’s headquarters in the BKC.She has alleged a case of forced oral sex in the FIR.On December 13, an FIR was filed against Jindal at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) police station in Mumbai, citing violations under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape), 354 (outraging a woman’s modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The FIR was registered one day after a hearing in the Bombay high court in which the two judge bench recorded an assurance by the police that they would act on the complaint if the young woman came the next day to the BKC police station to record her statement.She was represented in court by Rizwan Merchant and Gayatri Gokhale.In a statement issued in his “personal capacity” on December 17, Jindal has denied the allegations, calling them “false and baseless” and adding that “he is committed to providing full cooperation throughout the investigation”.“As the investigation is ongoing, we will refrain from commenting further at this stage. We kindly request you to respect the privacy of the family,” the statement continued to say.In her detailed complaint, the complainant has recorded that she came in contact with Jindal through her brother, whom she described as a real estate agent in Dubai with whom Jindal allegedly had some property-related work.She said that she first met Jindal in October 2021 during an IPL match in Dubai, where they shared a VIP box.Subsequent meetings, including one at the wedding of Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel’s son in Jaipur, led to a business-related encounter in Mumbai, the complainant said.She has alleged that that despite her objections, Jindal allegedly persisted with unwarranted advances and expressed his romantic feelings.It was during a meeting at the JSW Group’s headquarters in January 2022 between the complainant and Jindal – where she maintains that he was persistent in his advances – that the incident allegedly took place. The complainant said this happened despite her consistently conveying that they limit things to “kissing and cuddling”.She filed her complaint on February 16, 2023, upon being urged to so by her family members, the FIR says.Hesitant initially due to the accused’s prominence as a big businessman, the woman ultimately filed a complaint on February 16, 2023 at the urging of family members. In response, her complaint says, Sajjan Jindal allegedly attempted to offer financial compensation in exchange for withdrawing the complaint but she did not agree to do so.According to her counsel, the police sat on her complaint and “dragged matters out for nearly a year”, compelling her to approach the high court for help.
