Mumbai Police File Rape FIR Against Industrialist Shyam S Bhartia; He Calls Allegations ‘Baseless’

Mumbai,India: The Kapurbawadi police in Thane have registered an FIR against Shyam S Bhartia, founder and chairman of Jubilant Bhartia Group, along with three others, for allegedly raping and blackmailing an aspiring actor. The case was registered on February 22, following the Bombay High Court’s directive after the complainant claimed that police had not acted on her initial November 2023 complaint.

According to the FIR, the woman was introduced to Bhartia by co-accused Puja Kanwaljit Singh in May 2023. She alleges that Bhartia took her to Singapore, where she was intoxicated and sexually assaulted, with Singh recording the incident to later use as blackmail. Further assaults were allegedly carried out in Andheri and Thane in June and October 2023.

In response, Bhartia denied all allegations, calling them "baseless, false, and made with mala fide intent." He stated that he would fully cooperate with the investigation. Jubilant Foodworks, in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, clarified that the FIR has no material impact on the company’s operations.

The Bombay High Court emphasized that the police should investigate based on merit but clarified that it had not examined the validity of the accusations. The investigation is currently ongoing.