Bombay Boys

Khan paid Rs 19 lakh as compensation in the case and is still facing trial in the Mumbai High Court for rash and negligent driving, though the initial charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder were dropped. The Maharashtra government plans to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the actor being acquitted of the serious charge.

‘‘The matter is sub judice and I don’t want to comment on it,’’ Amrohi says on behalf of the Khans. ‘‘But I just want to know why other hit-and-run cases are not given this kind of attention? Is this the only accident in independent India’s history?’’

Families of celebrity law-breakers believe their kin become meat for media because of their status. It makes masala reading, they say, and that’s why it is splashed around and sensationalised. But there’s another school of thought, which believes that celebrities have greater social responsibility because they are role models to many.

And there is the usual suspicion — that if a celebrity escapes punishment for violating the law, he/she probably paid his/her way out.

Fardeen Khan
Age 28

WHO’S HE: Film personality Feroz Khan’s son and a star in his own right.

THE CASE: If rich dads have earned themselves a bad name by forever bending the law to protect the progeny, the Fardeen Khan drug abuse case is a welcome exception to the norm.

Khan was arrested by officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of Mumbai on a May night in 2001 allegedly while entering into a drug deal with a peddler in the suburb of Juhu. Khan, who admitted to using the drug occasionally as a stress-reliever, was charged with illegal possession and consumption of cocaine under section 27 of the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Khan spent over a week in custody. But the day he was released, his father, filmmaker Feroz Khan, called a press conference and had Fardeen apologise for his actions. All through the week when Fardeen was in custody, Feroz Khan maintained that his son had committed a mistake. Never a ‘no comments’ or an attempt to cover up.

STATUS TODAY: The accused are out on bail. Khan’s lawyer Ayaas Khan says the case may come up for hearing in three to six months. Even today, father and son don’t skirt the issue if it comes up. They handle it with a dignity that’s rare when it comes to celebrity slip-ups.

Ranjit Chowdhary
Age 30s

WHO’S HE: Son of T K Chowdhary, DG, CID, Pune

THE CASE: Director-general of police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Pune, T K Chowdhary is one angry man. And he has been that way for over a year now, ever since the Bombay Bazaar scam involving his son Ranjit broke.

It all began in late-2001. That was when Bombay Bazaar — a retail chain dealing in groceries and cosmetics of which Ranjit Chowdhary was the managing director — released a series of advertisements inviting franchisees and promising returns of upto Rs 44,000 a month. In response, 27 parties each invested between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in Mumbai alone; in return, the company provided them the decor and the goods.

The dream run lasted only a few months. By March 2002, cheques issued by Bombay Bazaar allegedly started bouncing and the returns ceased. Some franchisees complained they were not receiving their stocks on time. To stem the rot, Ranjit Chowdhary promised that the money would come. But it never did.

Fed-up franchisees filed complaints with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, the crime branch and the CID. Five of them even went to the Andheri Magistrate’s court. Final estimates put the losses of the Mumbai franchisees alone at Rs 8 crore.

‘‘The company has similar complaints filed against it in almost every Indian city — including Jaipur, Indore, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad,’’ says Chetan Dedhia from Mumbai, the only franchisee who managed to get his money back.

STATUS TODAY: United under the banner of the Bombay Bazaar Franchisees Sangh, some have moved the Mumbai Mahanagar Vyapari Parishad for help. The case is being fought in different courts of the country.

‘‘We get court dates and attend hearings but it’s been close to two years and nothing’s happening,’’ Rajendra Thakkar, secretary of the Parishad thunders. ‘‘The police are quiet because Ranjit Chowdhary’s father is a police officer. Who do we trust in this country if not the police?’’

The cops, however, insist they are doing their bit. Officers investigating the case say they are ‘‘on their way to preparing the chargesheet’’. T K Chowdhary continues to argue that the case is of a civil nature and didn’t warrant criminal complaints. ‘‘If the investors want their money they should file recovery complaints against the company and all its directors,’’ Chowdhary insists, ‘‘not against my son.’’

Nikhil Daswani
Age 26

WHO’S HE: Son of Raju Daswani, owner of the Charagh Din clothing label

THE CASE: A familiar face on Mumbai’s social circuit, Nikhil Daswani hit the headlines in September this year for allegedly assaulting his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Kavita Lakhani. The incident occurred on the night of September 6, after the two met at a common friend’s bash in south Mumbai.

The party was to continue at another venue and the crowd split into groups to travel there. Daswani allegedly insisted that Lakhani travel with him in his car. A reluctant Lakhani agreed. Despite her protests, Daswani drove Lakhani to his apartment at Windmere in the upmarket area of Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai. Once home, he allegedly forcibly carried her to his ground floor flat. According to Lakhani, Daswani then slapped her, banged her head on the wall and even tried strangling her with a telephone cord. Daswani was reportedly upset with Lakhani for turning down his marriage proposal and breaking up with him. The assault stopped only when his parents came home a couple of hours later and intervened.

Lakhani subsequently filed a complaint with the Gamdevi police. Daswani was charged with kidnapping under Section 363, wrongful confinement under Section 342 and causing grievous hurt under section 324 of the Indian Penal Code. He was later released on a bail of Rs 3,000.

STATUS TODAY: Daswani is out on bail of Rs 3,000 even as the Gamdevi police tries to determine if the tape of a conversation between Daswani and an acquaintance that took place during the assault can be admitted as evidence.

Daswani’s father Raju, however insists that ‘‘there is nothing in the case. Why are you people digging up what is dead?’’

Senior inspector, Gamdevi police inspector, I M Jahid, on the other hand, maintains that Daswani will have to appear in court. ‘‘The process is underway. Anybody breaking the law will be dealt with according to the books of law, whether he is a businessman’s son, a police officer’s son or a poor man’s son,’’ he says emphatically.