Published
Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 12:50
- The lawyer for the alleged victim said she was assaulted multiple times between 2019 and 2022.
Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.
A major Indian promoter is being held in pretrial jail in Mumbai for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman DJ on multiple occasions.
Prateek Pandey, who has worked with Boiler Room and DGTL Festival, runs events company Slick and was a partner at another events company, Yozora Entertainment. According to the alleged victim's lawyer, Pathan Wariz Arbaz, Pandey is facing charges of "rape, unnatural offences, outraging the modesty of a woman, stalking and threat of criminal intimidation." Arbaz said Pandey has been committing these offences since 2019.
Pandey was taken into custody on November 27th after the alleged victim filed a police complaint on November 9th at Bandra Police Station in Mumbai. He was moved to a pretrial prison on December 2nd and appeared in court to make an application for bail on December 7th. The appeal was challenged by Arbaz. Depending on whether all testimonies are heard, Pandey is due to reappear in court tomorrow, December 14th, to hear the verdict on his bail application.
The alleged victim, who is not of Indian origin, moved to India in 2012 to work as a model. She started DJing in 2015, which is when she approached Pandey about possibly managing her as an artist. They began working together in 2017. Arbaz said Pandey initially pursued her for a romantic relationship "but she stuck with the principles of maintaining a friendship and professional relationship–nothing more than that." This contradicts an article in The Indian Express, which said that Pandey and the woman were in a relationship, according to a police officer at Bandra Police Station.
Arbaz said the first incident took place in July 2019 at Pandey's flat. The alleged victim wanted to wait outside but Pandey insisted she enter with him. "But when they got upstairs, he tried to force himself on top of her," Arbaz added. "When she refused him, he grabbed her neck and head and forced her to orally please him."
After the alleged incident, Arbaz said Pandey warned the victim that if she told anyone, her career would be ruined. As a result, Arbaz said she was "too scared and intimidated" to say anything. "This type of exploitation is a very common problem for foreigners living and working in India," he added.
The woman was allegedly sexually assaulted again in September 2019 at hotel rooms during a spate of gigs arranged by Pandey in Chandigarh, Bangalore and Calcutta. Arbaz said Pandey had made sure he was traveling with the alleged victim to these gigs and that they both stayed together at each location.
"In these different places, he threw her on the bed and forced himself on her," Arbaz said. "She felt trapped going with him to these gigs. But she was again threatened to not open her mouth otherwise her career would be destroyed."
In July 2022, Arbaz said Pandey "followed" the alleged victim to Tomorrowland, where she was booked to play her first gig. Despite being in separate hotels, he said he managed to find the alleged victim in her room after the event, refusing to leave unless he received a sexual favour.
"He threw her on the bed and demanded she break up with her boyfriend and then sexually assaulted her," Arbaz said. A sequence of sexually explicit messages followed, in which he "threatened to destroy her career if she didn't break up with her boyfriend," he added.
On December 29th, Arbaz said Pandey "finally fired the [alleged] victim from Slick Entertainment" but continued to send her "threatening messages and threatened to kill her friend." In August 2023, the woman allegedly encountered Pandey again when he joined her on an auto-rickshaw and tried to force her hand onto his genitals.
Prateek's lawyer, Akshay Gosavi, shared this statement with RA. "The woman had grossly misused Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and his client has been wrongly arrested. The two of them were in a relationship. They worked and travelled together. The allegations of sexual exploitation are very shocking as they were romantically involved."
Pandey is registered as a "designated director" at Yozora Entertainment. Last Monday, December 4th, Yozora announced it was no longer affiliated with Pandey. Slick also confirmed that he has stepped down until he is "exonerated of all charges."
Speaking to RA, a spokesperson for Boiler Room said, "Following the recent allegations against Prateek Pandey, Boiler Room [on December 4th] ended its contract with Yozora Entertainment, effective immediately and indefinitely."
RA also spoke to Amsterdam's DGTL Festival. "The allegations against Prateek Pandey have come to our attention," a spokesperson said in a statement. "First of all, we as DGTL condemn any form of violence and harassment in whatever form and we actively campaign against it. Presently, as the investigation is in progress, our understanding of the facts is limited, preventing us from offering a comprehensive response. It's important to note that Prateek has been disassociated from Yozora for some time already and therefore he's not affiliated with us anymore."
Once the judge has decided whether or not to grant Pandey bail, an investigation will take place and a trial will commence. We'll report more on this story as it develops.
Photo: India Today
Correction, December 13th: This article has been updated with the correct timeline regarding Boiler Room's statement.
Update, December 13th: This piece has been updated to include alternative information about Pandey and the alleged victim's relationship status.
Update, December 14th: This piece has been updated with a short statement from Pandey's lawyer, Akshay Gosavi.