Veteran actor Jeetendra accused of sexually assaulting his cousin 47 years ago

A police complaint was filed on Wednesday (February 7) against veteran actor Jeetendra with Himachal Pradesh's Director General of Police by his cousin who has accused the actor of sexually assaulting her 47 years after the alleged incident.

As per the complaint, the incident took place in January 1971, when the victim was 18 and Jeetendra was 28. It happened when he "arranged" for her to join him from New Delhi to Shimla on the set of his movie without the complainant's "awareness".

The victim has claimed that on the night they reached Shimla, Jeetendra returned to the room in an inebriated state, joined the two separate beds and sexually assaulted her.

Jeetendra, whose real name is Ravi Kapoor, is the son of the victim's father's sister. 

The allegation comes amid the #MeToo campaign as part of which women have come out about facing sexual abuse at the hands of powerful men.

While several ladies have accused Hollywood's powerful men of sexual assault, the Hindi film industry — while admitting the prevalence of abuse — has not named and shamed people as openly.

Jeetendra, now 75, is a well-known name in the Hindi film industry. He is also a producer, and has daughter Ekta and son Tusshar with wife Shobhaa.

(With IANS Inputs)