Choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, professionally known as Jani Master, was arrested in Goa on September 19, 2024, under the POCSO Act following allegations of sexual assault made by his ex-female colleague, who claimed the incidents occurred over the years when she was a minor. On October 3, 2024, he has been granted an interim bail.
According to Deccan Chronicle, Jani Master was granted interim bail by the Rangareddy District Court in Telangana from October 6 to October 10 to attend the National Film Awards function where he will receive an award for his work on the song Megham Karukkatha from Dhanush and Nithya Menen's movie, Thiruchitrambalam.
The report further states that Jani Master has been giving an interim bail with conditions that he would appear before the court on October 10, 2024, at 10 am, provide two sureties of Rs 2 lakhs each. He has also been instructed to refrain from giving media interviews or filing another interim bail petition during this period.
Earlier, Jani Master had denied the sexual assault allegations and said that the victim tortured him mentally to marry her. According to Chitra Jyothy, he also stated that he had informed Pushpa director Sukumar about the victim.
Jani said, "She introduced herself through a show. She lied about being sexually assaulted as a minor. I recognised her talent and gave her an opportunity as an assistant choreographer. The victim used to torture me mentally to marry her. Many times she threatened me."
Recently, Jani admitted to sexually assaulting a junior colleague. He was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he faces charges under IPC sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
