Model gets jail for plotting to kill filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar
MUMBAI: The city civil and sessions court sentenced model Preeti Jain to three years in jail and fined her ₹10,000 for plotting to murder filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar against whom she had registered a rape case earlier.
Two of her associates — Naresh Pardeshi and Shivram Das — were also sentenced to three years on charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting crime. The trio was granted bail on a cash surety of ₹15,000. They have been given four weeks to file an appeal in the Bombay HC.
Bhandarkar reacted to the verdict with a tweet: “Some things are better left unsaid! Some things are better left as they are. Life moves on, so have I.”
Jain’s two other aides from UP were acquitted for lack of evidence. Soon after the court’s decision, Jain sought suspension of the sentence. It was alleged Jain approached Pardeshi to eliminate Bhandarkar in 2005, almost a year after she filed a rape case against him, and allegedly paid ₹75,000 for the job. However, as the task was not completed, she asked for her money back. The issue reached Gawli, who then sent his men to alert the police.
After a week-long probe, the police registered a case on September 10, 2005. Pardeshi was arrested the same day and Jain was picked up while she was on her way to the police station. Police later arrested Pardeshi’s friend Shivram Das, who allegedly helped arrange for weapons and shooters. The trial first began in the fast-track court in Sewree, but was later transferred to the sessions court.