Tollywood Choreographer Jani Master Granted Bail in Sexual Assault Case

Tollywood choreographer Jani Master has been granted conditional bail by the Telangana High Court after spending over a month in jail following accusations of sexual assault. The Rangareddy district court had previously allowed interim bail so Jani could attend the 70th National Film Awards on October 8, where he was set to receive an award for his choreography in the song "Megham Karukkatha."

However, following the court's decision, the National Film Awards Cell revoked both the award and the invitation due to the severity of the charges.

Jani Master, whose real name is Sheik Jani Basha, was accused by a 21-year-old female choreographer of sexually assaulting her during a work trip to Mumbai in 2020, with continued harassment over the years. The victim, who met Jani Master in 2017 and became his assistant in 2019, filed a police complaint detailing multiple instances of assault in Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

The Cyberabad police arrested Jani Master on September 19, and he remains under investigation with charges including rape, criminal intimidation, and assault under the Indian Penal Code, as well as charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, as the victim was a minor at the time of the initial incident.