Dancer alleges death, rape threats by ‘jealous’ artiste

› Sumit Dalal recently called me over the phone, and threatened me of rape during my show on January 10, where he claimed Gauri will beat me up in front of the audience. AARTI BHORIYA, dancer

ROHTAK : Haryanvi dancer Aarti Bhoriya on Wednesday lodged a police complaint, alleging she has been receiving death and rape threats from another artiste for the past seven months.

The dancer, a Dalit, has accused fellow artiste Gauri Rani and her aide Sumit Dalal for threatening her of rape and murder, as they were envious of her for landing better gigs in the past year.

In her statement filed at New Anaj Mandi police post in Rohtak, Bhoriya alleged that Dalal recently called her over the phone, and threatened her of rape during her show on January 10, where he claimed Gauri will beat her up in front of the audience.

She alleged that the accused had previously also barged into her house and manhandled her. “These threats have left me confused, as I have done nothing wrong. It’s possible that Gauri is jealous of me for doing better shows than her,” she said.

Acting on her complaint, the police have booked Rani and Dalal under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Sections 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The police said investigation was underway to arrest the duo.

Earlier in October 2017, Haryanvi singer and dancer Harshita Dahiya was shot dead in Panipat. In her videos uploaded on her Facebook page, Harshita had made similar allegations against fellow Haryanvi artists of threatening her due to jealousy.