No rape, says Shiney Ahuja’s maid

Mumbai : There was finally some relief for Shiney Ahuja after his 20-year-old domestic backtracked from her statement in which she said that the Bollywood actor had raped her last year.

Ahuja had spent more than three months in jail and was released on October 1, 2009, after the Bombay High Court granted him bail.

Ahuja was arrested on June 14, 2009, after the maid lodged a complaint with Oshiwara police station alleging that she was raped by the actor in his flat while she was alone.

The fast track court in Sewri, which is hearing the case, has declared the maid as a hostile witness, but the trial will continue. The next hearing is scheduled for September 15.

The prosecution will now try to establish the case on the related stories on the basis of testimonies of the other witnesses.

The police had filed a 109-page charge sheet against Ahuja with statements of 12 witnesses, forensic reports and other documentary evidence.

The prosecution will now get the forensic and medical experts to depose.

The maid also alleged that Ahuja had threatened her with dire consequences if she spoke about the incident.

Ahuja had reportedly admitted during the course of arguments for his bail plea that medical reports don?t support the allegation of rape and that the DNA reports don?t match.

He had argued that medical evidence indicates the victim had sexual intercourse, not that it was necessarily forceful. The police had, however, maintained then that they had enough medical evidence to prove Ahuja had raped the maid.

Ahuja had been charged under sections 376 (rape), which attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years? imprisonment, 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.