Zaira Wasim, best known for her appearance in the films Dangal and Secret Superstar, has been summoned by the Dindoshi Sessions Court in Mumbai in connection with the case that she had filed against a man for allegedly molesting her on a Vistara flight while she was travelling to Mumbai from New Delhi in December 2017.
The court has directed the actress to make an appearance on November 1 along with the witness – in this case, Zaira is the sole witness of the incident apart from being the alleged victim. The accused, Vikas Sachdeva, who has been charged under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act and other charges, also has to be present in the court for the trial on the same date.
Sachdeva’s lawyer intends to cross-question Zaira regarding the matter because the accused had filed an application in court to suspend his conditional bail, which was granted to him on the condition that he will be required to appear at the Sahar Police Station in Mumbai on the first Sunday of every month at any point of time between 10:30 am to 11 pm until the length of the trial.
Sachdeva, on the other hand, had also filed a petition and the court, in order to proceed with it, requires the presence of the alleged victim and the prosecuting party. The Mumbai Police has issued four notices to Zaira, directing her to record her statement in the matter, but she has refused to oblige so far.
Sachdeva was arrested in December after the alleged incident enraged the nation, evoking intense reactions from politicians, women organisations and activists. His wife, in fact, had issued a statement in which she sought to defend her husband as innocent and that he had no intention to molest. She told the press that there was a death in the family for which he had gone and had not slept for 24 hours.
[caption id="attachment_22459" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Zaira Wasim.[/caption]
Divya had claimed that he even told the Vistara Airlines crew not to disturb him as he wanted to sleep, and he had kept his foot on the armrest, but without the intention to harass Zaira. The actress narrated the incident, saying that the accused seated behind her, moved his foot up and down her neck and back. As she spoke about the incident, she broke down in a self-shot video which went viral, drawing widespread condemnation from all over the country.
Zaira is currently filming Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink in London, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar.