Jeetendra’s Cousin Files FIR Claiming He Sexually Abused Her When She Was 18

The courage to speak up about being sexually harassed at any point in a person’s life is not easily mustered. If the #MeToo has taught us anything it is that sexual abuse can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any age and at the hands of anyone. As the skeletons in Harvey Weinstein’s closet began tumbling out, one by one so did those of many other celebrities. Some allegations were shocking, while others were just old cries for help finally falling on the right ears. And now this storm has made its way to Bollywood with a disturbing allegation against actor Jeetendra.

In a shocking turn of events, a sexual abuse complaint has been filed against veteran actor Jeetendra by a female cousin.

According to a report by India Today, the victim is from Himachal Pradesh and wishes to keep her identity a secret, mostly because the actor is a rich and influential member of the Bollywood community.

The woman has clarified that she only decided to file a police complaint now because her parents were no more and had they found this out about their nephew (Jeetendra) while they were alive, it would have devastated them.

The complaint, filed in Shimla, states that the victim was only 18 at the time the alleged incident occurred and Jeetendra was 28, ten years her senior.

He had sought permission from the victim’s father to take her along for a film shoot, where he eventually sexually abused her.

“As I rested on my side, facing the wall, he entered the bed and mounted me from behind with his penis erect.”

She claims that after all these years, the #MeToo campaign gave her the courage to finally seek some closure for all the mental trauma she experienced.

It is indeed disturbing the sheer amount of incidents of abuse that have surfaced in the light of the Weinstein scandal. The only silver lining has to be the courage and support that women are deriving from the movement that the scandal has birthed.

Here’s hoping truth and justice prevails, and if there has been a crime, a commensurate relief and punishment is meted out by the keepers of the law.