Indian director Mahmood Farooqui has been found guilty of raping a woman at his home in Delhi.
The film-maker, who co-directed 2010 satirical comedy Peepli Live, is being convicted for sexually assaulting an American student last March. According to the Indian Express, he now faces a minimum sentence of seven years in prison.
“This is perhaps one of the first cases of forced oral sex, which shows two things: that there was a crime for which we did not earlier have an offence named – now it has been recognised as rape,” said Vrinda Grover, who acted on behalf of the complainant. “We’re also very happy to see that the court relied on very credible evidence that the woman gave.”
The complainant said she didn’t resist the attack because she feared she would be killed, like the victim of the 2012 Delhi gang rape.
Farooqui made Peepli Live with his wife Anusha Rizvi, who last year called the allegation “manipulated” and “false” in a written statement. The film was picked as India’s foreign language entry for the 2011 Oscars, but failed to secure a nomination.
“Our fight for justice is by no means over,” Rizvi told the Hindustan Times. “We will approach the high court for justice that has been denied to us.”
