Sajjan Jindal denies rape allegations, calls them 'false and baseless'

Sajjan Jindal, the Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, has denied the allegations against him accusing him of rape.

The statement, released in his personal capacity, reads, "Sajjan Jindal denies these false and baseless allegations. He is committed to providing full cooperation throughout the investigation. As investigation is ongoing, we will refrain from further comment at this stage. We kindly request you to respect the privacy of the family."

The Mumbai Police Department filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Jindal at the Bandra Kurla Complex Police Station on December 13, 2023. In it, the complainant, a 30-year-old Mumbai woman has alleged that the incident occurred on January 24, 2022, at a penthouse in JSW Group's BKC premises.

Jindal has been booked under IPC 376 (rape), IPC 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and IPC 503 (criminal intimidation).

The complainant's statement in the FIR, accessed by CNBC-TV18, alleges she met Sajjan Jindal for the first time on October 8, 2021, in Dubai, where phone numbers were exchanged with the intent of pursuing property-related deals. She further alleges that after a few meetings, the accused tried to make sexual advances towards her on more than one occasion, which she repeatedly refused.

The statement in the FIR also alleges that she first approached Mumbai police on February 16, 2023, to file the FIR against Sajjan Jindal. However, when Mumbai Police did not register her FIR despite several months passing by, she moved to the Bombay High Court on December 5, 2023. The court, on December 12, 2023, ordered that the FIR be registered. Mumbai police have denied allegations that it delayed registering the FIR.