Amit Mishra's alleged assault victim, a Bollywood producer, reveals long friendship with the cricketer
The details of the case in which India cricketer Amit Mishra has been accused of assault have only just begun to unravel, and it has now been made apparent that the woman in question is a Bollywood actor-turned-producer who has shared a familiar relationship with Mishra for three years before the incident.
Vandana Jain, the woman who lodged an FIR at Ashok Nagar Police Station on September 25, has spoken to Bangalore Mirror about the details of the night of violence at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The woman has accused Mishra of throwing a kettle at her and outraging her modesty.
As related by Vandana Jain in her complaint, she had shared a close relationship with Amit Mishra after the two had been introduced by a mutual friend three years ago. Whenever Mishra was in Bangalore for cricket camps or treatment, the two would reportedly spend time together at Vandana's upscale apartment on Resthouse Crescent Road, off MG Road.
"We were close friends for the past three years. Suddenly, he began to avoid me. So I decided to confront him. On September 25, I learnt that he was in town for training. Around 8 pm, I called him on his mobile, but he did not answer. I then called the Ritz Carlton hotel and was informed that he had put up a `Do Not Disturb' sign on his door," Vandana told the police.
The complainant then managed to get into room number 810 where Mishra was put up. When she didn't find Mishra there, she decided to wait for him. On his return, as Vandana told the police, Mishra lost his cool and screamed at her for entering his room without his permission.
"He began hitting me with his hands and threw the electric kettle at my face. He grabbed my neck so hard that I nearly suffocated. He twisted my right wrist so badly that my right ring finger suffered a fracture," she said. Vandana said they sat down despite the fight. "I asked him why he was being so violent. He began using filthy words and called me a `b**ch', and `roadside girl'. I then ran out of the room by midnight, crying," she added.
Hotel staff report that they saw her walking out of the hotel. Police are currently investigating CCTV footage from the hotel.
Mishra yet to respond, investigations ongoing: Police
According to Bengaluru police, if Mishra does not respond to the summons by next Tuesday, he will be arrested. They have sent a notice to him, copy marking the BCCI in it as well. He is currently with the Indian team, who are locked in a 5-match ODI series with South Africa.
"He is yet to respond to the notice. The woman was produced before a magistrate on Tuesday and her statements were recorded. We are in the process of collecting CCTV footage of the incident from the hotel. Investigations are on," said DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil.
The BCCI have launched an independent probe into the matter.
Vandana Jain had once said in an interview, quite candidly, that she was a Bollywood producer because she wanted to be an actress, and that she had figured out this route to stardom because she was from a business background.
She produced the film Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya, apart from also having once being a co-owner of the Celebrity Cricket League's Bengal Tigers team along with Boney Kapoor.