Court asks cops to probe Shaw pub assault case
MUMBAI: A metropolitan magistrate court on Wednesday directed the Mumbai police to conduct an inquiry into social media influencer Sapna Gill’s allegations of molestation against cricketer Prithvi Shaw at an Andheri pub in 2023. Additional metropolitan magistrate SC Tayde, after hearing Gill’s complaint, directed the police to probe the allegation and submit a report by June 19.
Gill had lodged a complaint before a magistrate court in Andheri seeking registration of FIR under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code against Shaw and his friend Ashish Yadav for assaulting her with a bat in February last year.
Before moving the court, Gill had approached the airport police station in Andheri for registration of a molestation case against the cricketer and his friend.
She had moved to the magistrate court after the police failed to take note of her complaint. Police had earlier told the court that examination of the CCTV footage of the pub shows that Gill and her friend Shobit Thakur were drunk and dancing. Thakur wanted to record Shaw with his mobile phone, but the cricketer stopped him from taking videos and on perusal of the footage, it doesn’t appear that Shaw and others molested Gill in any way, the police maintained.
They added that they had recorded statements from witnesses present in the pub where the alleged incident occurred, and they stated that no one had touched Gill inappropriately. Police said they also examined CCTV footage of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, which is in the vicinity, and it was seen that the social media influencer was following Shaw’s car with a baseball bat in her hand. The footage showed that she smashed the windshield of the cricketer’s car, the court was told. The police report also mentioned that they had recorded the statement of a CISF official, and they too said no such incident had taken place as claimed by Gill. According to a CISF official, they were alerted about a scuffle in the area.
Upon reaching the spot, he saw a car’s windshield smashed and the car driver told him that an argument ensued inside the pub and the manager had asked them to leave and that he wanted to lodge an FIR, as per the report. The official said he had seen a woman holding a baseball bat in her hand. Her male friend took the bat from her and threw it to the side when they saw police approaching the spot. None of the men at the spot was assaulting the woman, stated the report citing the statement of the CISF official. The investigation conducted in accordance with the complaint of Gill revealed that the allegations against Prithvi Shaw and others are false/ unfounded, police claimed.
Gill was arrested in February 2023 along with some others in connection with an alleged attack on Shaw following an argument over clicking selfies at a suburban hotel.