Actor Karan Oberoi’s friends held a press conference in support of him, a few days after he was arrested on charges of rape and extortion
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; May 9, 2019)

A press conference was held in support of TV actor Karan Oberoi, who was arrested on Sunday on charges of rape and extortion levelled against him by a fashion designer-and-healer. Addressing the media was his sister Gurbani Oberoi, best friend Pooja Bedi, and the members of A Band Of Boys — the Indipop band that Karan is a part of, which includes actor Sudhanshu Pandey, Sherrin Verghese, Chaitanya Bhosle and Siddharth Haldipur, among others.

WE WANT TO TELL PEOPLE THAT WHAT’S HAPPENING TO KARAN IS WRONG: SUDHANSHU PANDEY
Sudhanshu said, “I have known Karan since two decades. We have seen each other’s ups and downs both on the professional and personal front. Karan’s father is a decorated retired Army officer and a war hero. Karan comes from a good family and had a solid upbringing. He was in the merchant navy before he became an actor. He has always led a disciplined life and has no vices. Since we know how he is, we can’t believe the kind of allegations that have been levelled against him. He is one of the most chivalrous guys I have ever come across. Forget the allegations, I have never seen him raise his voice while talking to a woman or behave rudely with her. So, this is a completely unbelievable situation that we are in right now. That’s the reason, why we have come together. We want to tell people that what’s happening to him is wrong.”

SHE HAS CAUSED IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO KARAN: POOJA BEDI
Actress and columnist Pooja Bedi said, “People who know Karan will vouch that he is a thorough gentleman. The allegations pressed on him are extremely serious. Based on what’s out in public domain, this girl had met Karan during the end of 2016 on a dating app. This incident apparently occurred in 2017; there was no sign or news of it, then. In October 2018, Karan filed an NC against her for harassment. However, in an interview given by her in 2018, she mentioned that she and Karan were in a relationship and she showered him with gifts, besides other things. In 2019, she filed a case against him and that, too, she chose a date when the courts close for the holidays to talk about an alleged incident that happened in January 2017. Her statements in the interview in 2018 are completely contrary to the FIR filed in 2019, stating an incident that happened in 2017. She didn’t mention those incidents in her interview given in 2018, which is completely polar in tonality and language. Though we have submitted proof pertaining to the conversation, which is all recorded, the police had no choice but to act on her FIR, because she filed it and is a woman. No matter how innocent Karan may be and all the evidence is there to support it, the cops will have to follow due process of law. It’s so unfortunate to see a man, who is most decent, kind, wonderful and a gentleman, being subjected to something like this — the condition he is in currently, damage to his reputation and career, the trauma that his family is going through. What’s unacceptable to me is that women can file whatever cases they want to against a man and their names are kept secret, but you can tarnish the image of a man completely. It’s not true just for Karan, but for many men across the country. There is a rise in the number of cases, where some women are misusing the law. They misuse these laws either to extort, for personal vendetta, and various other reasons. I think this is something we need to take stock of as people and a society. Today, a Karan Oberoi, who is famous, has been branded as a rapist. Tomorrow, if he is acquitted, it will be carried as a small news item. But people will still remember the rapist tag. She has caused irreparable damage to this man. If it is proved that it’s a fake case, which I am certain it will, I want to see action taken against her and in fact, against every woman who has filed a fake case against a man and caused irreparable damage to his career, name, dignity, integrity and his family.”

Pooja added, “I have fought my whole life for women’s rights, and I started fighting for men’s rights from last year. I believe in equality, but a woman can’t get away with ruining a man’s life. There have to be repercussions and stringent punishment against women who file fake cases, because only then they will learn to not frame someone. And because of these handful of women, people cast aspersions on those who are genuine. Rape is a heinous crime and provisions of law have been made to protect women. But if the greater number of women are going to misuse this stringent law that severely punishes men and their families, then certain laws not just need to be amended, but also be made to protect men’s rights. After what has happened with Karan, we have initiated the ‘#MenToo’ movement.”

THE ONLY TIME WE HEARD OF HER WAS WHEN KARAN SAID THAT A WOMAN WAS STALKING AND THREATENING HIM: POOJA BEDI
Pooja also mentioned that she has never heard about the girl. She said, “I have known Karan for 15 years and he is my best friend. We have seen each other through all our relationships, but I have never heard of this girl. No one, including his sister, has heard of her. The only time we heard of her was when Karan told us that a woman was harassing, stalking, intimidating and threatening him. She claims to have some powers! He filed an NC against her in 2018 and even instructed the security guards that this woman shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the building. She would still come, keep presents on the desk and threatened to burn them if he didn’t collect them. The security and his staff are witness to a lot of such incidents. He took whatever measures he could, including informing the police, instructing the security and his staff, to keep himself safe. But it’s bizarre when someone decides to file a case with such heinous charges against someone relating back to 2017, while in 2018, she was behaving completely different with him.”

THE LAW HAS BEEN MISUSED: SHERRIN VERGHESE
Karan’s friend and member of A Band Of Boys, Sherrin believes that the filing of the FIR, which led to Karan’s arrest, has been very well-timed by the girl. “This points out how the law has been misused and the person is deriving a certain kind of sadistic pleasure by doing it. You can’t force someone to love you and this is a clear case of one-sided love. The guy will go through hell just because somebody has misused the law. Having said that, we have complete faith in the law and judicial system of our country. We hope and pray that Karan sails through this.”

Pooja added, “While on one hand, she claims that Karan drugged and raped her, on the other, she says that he promised to marry her on the pretext of sex. She needs to make up her mind on whether he raped her or was she after him to marry her? There is a contradiction in her statements.”

SHE WAS PROPOSITIONING HIM FOR SEX — HOW DOES THAT BECOME RAPE: POOJA BEDI
It was also mentioned that the girl would send text messages to Karan from a new number every time the actor blocked her. Reading out a message Pooja said, “This was sent by the girl to Karan on January 13, 2017, and the message read... ‘Karan, I am being open and upfront. Can we have sex without thinking about the future, emotions or anything else just for now as my body needs it and I won’t be comfortable indulging with anyone else. So let me know what you think about it’. His reply to her was, ‘I am not in the frame of mind for it right now. I am way too preoccupied with my career’. It’s clear that she is propositioning him for sex, then how does that become rape?”

KARAN’S LAWYER TO APPLY FOR BAIL SOON
Karan’s lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said, “We will apply for bail either on May 9 or 10, and depending on the availability of the judge, the matter will be decided. Otherwise, remand will happen at the magistrate court on May 9. We will get their (Karan’s friends) statements recorded; they are witness to the acts of voodoo (by her). We will also get Karan’s staff Shiva’s statement recorded. He is an important witness. While the lady claims that she was drugged and raped in January, 2017, Shiva was with Karan throughout that time. He told us that the girl wasn’t allowed to enter the home, as she would carry a skull with her and would perform black magic. If you read her FIR, it’s extremely contradictory. While on the one hand, she says that she was raped, on the other hand, she says that she got gifts for him from Japan, she would give him money and was willing to marry him. Any prudent woman, who has been unfortunately raped, would never agree to the proposal of marriage.”