The city police have initiated an inquiry after it was discovered that an artist being currently being investigated for rape performed at the annual Mumbai police festival Umang on Saturday evening.
The city police have initiated an inquiry after it was discovered that an artist being currently being investigated for rape performed at the annual Mumbai police festival Umang on Saturday evening. CM Devendra Fadnavis had also attended the event where several Bollywood personalities and celebrities performed for the city police.
The singer Ankit Tiwari (25) was arrested by the Versova police in May last year for allegedly raping a divorcee by spiking her drink while his brother Ankur had been arrested on charges of criminal intimidation after he threatened the victim at knife point against filing a police complaint. Sources in the city police confirmed that Ankit, had performed at the festival, just after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis left the venue. CP Rakesh Maria had also visited the event along with other senior IPS officers in the city police commissionerate. Despite repeated attempts, Mr Maria and joint CP (law and order) Dhananjay Kamalakar could not be reached for comments.
Ankit’s manager Gayatri Sonalkar confirmed that the former performed at the event. “He had formally been invited by the city police to perform at the festival,” she said. He is learnt to have sung a song from the upcoming horror flick Alone at the Andheri Sports Complex where the event is being held. In the rape case against him, Ankit is accused of raping the woman on several occasions since July 2013 by promising to marry her. He was introduced to her in October 2012 by a common friend.
The woman claimed the first rape took place in July where Ankit was attending a party at her sister’s residence where he got her drunk and then forced himself upon her. The next day, after the woman confronted him, he turned up at her residence with sindoor and enacted a dramatic wedding, promising to legalise it soon. He however failed to show up when the woman asked him to meet her at the marriage registrar’s office.
