Priyanka Borpujari, Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 9, 2014)

Singer Ankit Tiwari of Aashiqui 2 fame was arrested yesterday on charges of allegedly raping a woman he had been in a relationship with since 2012. The complainant stated that the 24-year-old singer repeatedly raped her while promising marriage.

According to Machhindra Bodkhe, inspector at Versova police station, Ankit had met the complainant at a Durga Puja event in 2012. On July 21, 2013, she allegedly invited him and some friends to celebrate the birthday of her sister, with whom she lives.

According to Bodhke, the complainant claimed that Ankit proposed marriage to her in front of everyone and forced her to consume alcohol, before taking her to the bedroom and raping her. "The next morning, she told her sister about the rape, who then confronted Ankit. He allegedly told her that since they would be getting married soon, she should not object to sex," said Bodkhe.

A month later, in August 2013, the singer put vermillion on the complainant's forehead in the presence of their friends and her sister, but when she insisted on a court marriage, he allegedly developed cold feet. The complainant alleges that Ankit's brother Ankur then threatened her against pressuring the singer for marriage by brandishing a knife.

The complainant first approached the Versova police towards the end of February 2014 and lodged a formal complaint of rape on April 14. "Since this was not a case of rape in the immediate moment, it took time to gather evidence before making a formal arrest," explained Bodkhe, adding that the evidence included the testimonies of their common friends who were present at the party last July.

Ankit has been charged under Sections 376, 493 and 417 of the IPC, for rape, cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage, and cheating.

Ankur was charged under Section 506(2) of the IPC for criminal intimidation. Ankit has been remanded to police custody until May 12, while Ankur has been remanded to judicial custody until May 22.

Ankit's lawyer Nagesh Mishra, he told Mirror, "We will fight it out."

The complainant heard us out and replied, "No comments." 
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MID-DAY (May 9, 2014)

Ankit Tiwari, the musician who shot to fame for composing and singing the song, Sunn Raha Hai Na Tu, from Aashiqui 2, has been arrested by the Versova police under rape charges. His elder brother, Ankur Tiwari, has also been booked for allegedly threatening the victim. On Thursday morning, cops came calling on Ankit’s doorstep. They asked the musician and his brother, Ankur, to come to Versova police station to record their statements. When they reached the police station, Ankit was arrested. The music director’s brother got bail, but Ankit has been sent to police custody till May 12.

Apparently, Ankit was dating an advertising professional and the two wanted to get married. In his statement, Ankit said, “I was seeing her for a year and I even got her to meet my parents. But when we found that she was a divorcee and she had a kid, my parents did not want me to continue with the relationship. I am being framed here. All the charges made by her are false and baseless.”

Lawyer Neeraj Gupta, who is representing both the accused, refuted the charges saying that it was an attempt by the victim to extort money from Ankit. Gupta noted that she wanted his client to pay her R 3 crore. “If the victim’s story is true, why was she silent till now? When she learnt that Ankit has made it big, she demanded money from him. But when he refused to pay her, she filed a false complaint against my clients,” he said.

Police inspector Machidra Vadkhe said, “The victim gave her complaint in writing in February to the ACP and the concerned DCP. On that basis, we registered an FIR in March and after verifying the evidence, we arrested him on Thursday.”

The allegation
In her statement, the victim has mentioned that in October 2012, she was introduced to Ankit Tiwari through a common friend. She says that Ankit sexually assaulted her between October 2012 and December 2013 telling her that he would marry her but he failed to keep his word. She also claims that Ankit’s brother, Ankur, threatened her with a knife and asked her to stay away from his brother.