Bombay Police complaint against Rahul Rawail and family

The filmmaker's son Bharat has been accused of beating up one Janet Iyer. Dad defends son, saying the woman is a nuisance While the city was immersed in Ganesh fervour on Saturday, a different kind of drama was unfolding at Vaz Bungalow in Bandra (W). An ugly spat broke out between one Janet Balachandran Iyer and producer-director Rahul Rawail (Betaab and Arjun fame) and his family. So much so it ended with an FIR (First Information Report) being filed against Rahul, his wife and his son Bharat at the Bandra Police Station. While Rawail and his family reside on the ground floor of the building, 43-year-old Iyer is the chairperson of the Elohim Bible Group, housed on the second and third floor. For the past four years, the group has been having prayer meetings in the premises. Napoleon Pacheco (21), a member of the group, told us,"At around 8.30pm, we were through with our meeting and members were leaving the premises. Suddenly, Mr Rawail's son and wife assaulted Ms Iyer. They hit her so much that she started bleeding profusely." Iyer told us, "They hit me repeatedly against the door frame and wall due to which I started bleeding. Mr Rawail and his family has a problem with the number of people who come to the office. His family has repeatedly abused us, saying we belong to a cult and raised questions about the type of people visiting us. On our part, we've been trying to make things comfortable for everyone. For instance, we've got us her to help members leave the premises quietly. But Mr Rawail, it seems, is not agreeable. He has a problem even when these people are seen in the compound during entry and exit." When contacted, Pratap Dighavkar, DCP, Zone IX, confirmed he is aware of the incident but since it was Anant Chaturdashi day, he was busy with the bandobast for Visarjan proceedings. "I have asked my officers to take up the issue. We will conduct an enquiry," Dighavkar said. Meanwhile Rahul had a completely different version. He said, "My son definitely did not beat up this Janet Iyer. She is a mad woman. She is a nuisance. She belongs to a cult. Almost everyday, she brings three to four hundred people to my building at 4.30am. What is this if not harassment?" He explained there is someone by the name Vishal Shah who stays in the building who helps her get in at such a time every day. "I have complained against her at least thrice to the cops. But she hasn't changed her ways. On Saturday, she crossed the limit. She actually started banging her head against the wall. My son did not beat her up. Yes I am aware that she has pictures where she appears to be beaten up but if my son was beating her up, and with her gang around her, wouldn't someone from that group have rescued her. For your information, she not only banged her head against her wall but also got her pictures clicked after that. I would like someone to come and see what is happening in this building where I stay with my son. It's sheer harassment," Rahul said.