Pooja Bedi Stands up for Actor Karan Oberoi Who Has Been Accused of Rape

TV actor Karan Oberoi has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman whom he met through a dating app. The popular TV actor began his career by appearing in Mahesh Bhatt’s TV serial ‘Swabhimaan.’ He later appeared in sitcoms like ‘Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi’, ‘Saaya’ and ‘Dishayen.’ Karan is also part of a musical band called ‘Band of Boys.’

According to the complainant who is a fashion designer and a healer, Karan was in a relationship with her since 2016. In an FIR, the complainant has stated that he raped her in the pretext of marrying her. As per the woman he also recorded a video and threatened to release it if she didn’t pay him money. The FIR was registered in Oshiwara Police Station in Mumbai under sections 376 (rape) and 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code against Karan.

According to Times of India, the woman filed a Non Cognizable Complaint (NC) against the actor last year in 2018 accusing him of harassing her for financial gains. Karan on his part filed a complaint against her ten days prior to her complaint accusing her of mental harassment.

According to a report in India Today, the actor broke down in Court on May 6 during court proceedings. The actor appeared in court on May 6 and will remain in police custody till May 9.

Pooja Bedi Defends Karan Oberoi

This incident came as a shocker to Karan Oberoi’s friends and family, therefore, they together decided to hold a press conference in support of him. Karan’s sister Gurbani Oberoi addressed the media in the press conference. Others who were part of the conference were Pooja Bedi and the members of the boy band namely Sudhanshu Pandey, Sherrin Verghese, Chaitanya Bhosle, and Siddharth Haldipur.

Standing up for Karan, Pooja Bedi claims that she’s known Karan very closely and they are best of friends. She can vouch that he’s a thorough gentleman. Throwing light on this complicated case, Pooja stated that Karan met the complainant at the end of 2016 through a dating app. The incident happened in 2017 however there was no news or complaints about it then. In 2018 October, Karan Oberoi filed an NC against the woman. Post that the woman filed a complaint against him claiming that he harassed her for financial gains.

In November 2018 however, the woman gave an interview stating that she was in a relationship with Karan and showered him with gifts. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the rape incident then. Pooja questions-why the woman didn’t speak about the rape incident then. Now, the woman has filed a complaint in 2019 about an incident that happened in January 2017. Her FIR is completely contrary to her interview given in 2018. Moreover, the complainant has chosen to file the complaint when the courts are closed for holidays. Now, the police have no choice but to follow through the procedure.

Pooja Bedi who has fought for women’s rights all along said that she has begun fighting for men’s rights last year. The actress has raised some interesting and thought-provoking points when it comes to men’s rights. She has stated that the identity of the woman has been kept a secret however the image of the man is tarnished which in her opinion is completely wrong. She believes that some women are misusing the same laws that have been made to protect them. And if such cases are on the rise then laws have to be amended and be made pro men because men’s image and career also get tarnished. She questions whether there are laws in place to punish women who falsely accuse men. There should be “equality” in these cases. After witnessing her friend’s ordeal in this complicated case, Pooja and Karan’s friends believe that it is time to begin the #MenToo movement too.