Noted singer Ghazal Srinivas was arrested by the Punjagutta police today for allegedly harassing a woman and produced before the Nampally Court. The Magistrate remanded Gazal Srinivas to 14-day judicial custody.
When the magistrate passed judicial remand for the noted singer, the defence lawyers moved a bail petition immediately. After hearing both sides, the magistrate rejected the bail petition. With this, the police shifted Gazal Srinivas to Chanchalguda central jail.
According to sources, the 29-year-old complainant, who was working for a web radio station, approached the police last week alleging that the well-known singer has been harassing her for sexual favours since more than a year. The Punjagutta police, after a thorough scrutiny of the proofs produced by the aggrieved woman, registered a non-bailable offence case under Section 354A IPC and arrested Ghazal Srinivas.
The police said the messages and videos produced by the complainant clearly established the fact that Ghazal Srinivas had kissed her forcibly and demanded that she massage him. The police said the victim, who was working with the radio station since June 2017 was mentally disturbed after being harassed by the singer. In one of the proofs produced by the victim, Ghazal threatened her to remove her from the job if she did not submit. The victim said as she was staying in a ladies hostel, she was facing sexual harassment from Srinivas constantly.
Talking to the media in the police station, Ghazal Srinivas flatly denied the charges saying he never indulged in such amorous activities. He claimed that the girl herself offered to massage his body in the absence of a masseuse. “I never had any bad intention as I treated the girl as my own daughter,” he claimed.