Farooqui co-directed the 2010 film ‘Peepli Live.’
AB Wire
A Delhi court on Thursday sentenced acclaimed film director Mahmood Farooqui to seven years in Jail for raping an American research scholar last year at his residence, reported The Times of India.
The court also imposed a fine of $749 on him and if he fails to pay it, the jail term would be increased by three months. Farooqui, 45, the co-director of the 2010 film ‘Peepli Live’ was found guilty of raping the 35-year-old American woman.
According to the police, Farooqui raped the research student, who was in India as part of her thesis work on March 28, 2015, at his house in Sukhdev Vihar.
The director was helping the student who was pursuing her studies at New York’s Columbia University when the crime happened. She met him through a common friend.
According to the statement given by the woman, Farooqui called her to his home to attend a party. When the scholar reached the house she found him under the influence of alcohol and he was crying. He asked her to go to his office room and later made advancements and forced himself on her.
The woman had filed the e-mails sent by Farooqui apologizing for his act. The police filed a First Information Report (FIR) on June 19, 2015, after arresting the director. On July 29, 2015, the police filed a charge sheet against Farooqui alleging that the director raped the woman at his house.
Farooqui and his wife Anusha Rizvi, who co-directed Peepli Live with him, had rejected all the allegations and maintained that the case was falsely implicated.
“The complaint is manipulated, false and belated. We don’t want to make any further comments on the matter because the case is under investigation. We will wait for the court’s decision where the actual truth of the matter will come out,” Rizvi had said.