Mumbai: Shiney Ahuja will spend the next three nights in police custody. The actor was arrested early Monday morning for allegedly raping his domestic help -- a girl aged nearly 18 who had been working in his house for the past month-and-a-half.
Police say that during his interrogation, Shiney has given multiple versions of what happened.
When the police asked Shiney that the girl has alleged she was raped by him, the actor said, "No, I didn't. I am being framed."
The police continued with the interrogation. The cops asked Shiney that the girl, in her complaint, has said that she came at 12 noon and at about 3 pm he dragged the girl from the passage to the bedroom and raped her. Shiney, however, continued to deny the charge.
But as the questioning continued, the actor broke down and admitted that they had sex, but it was consensual.
The girl has told the police that the actor had made a pass at her the day before.
"And that afternoon, when we were alone in the house, Shiney came and forced himself on me. I tried to push him away but he gagged and raped me. He also threatened me, and asked me not to talk about it," the girl said in her complaint.
"We arrested Shiney after due interrogation and medical test. What he says to us has no evidence value," said Amitabh Gupta, Additional Commissioner of Police, Mumbai.
The police have asked for Shiney's custody to prevent him from influencing the victim and to conclude the forensic tests, which are crucial as the victim has injuries on her body.
"Police custody was not required as it is not backed by concrete evidence. This is all premature," said Shrikant Shivade, the defence lawyer.
Shiney was allowed to meet his family for five minutes.
"He is compactly innocent. We love him and stand by him. He is a man of character," Shiney's wife Anu Ahuja said after meeting him.
In court, Shiney was seen silently praying. But it will take more than a prayer to prove his innocence.