Jeetendra's legal counsel calls sexual harassment allegations 'miserable efforts by a jealous competitor' 

The Hindi film industry was rattled on Wednesday when a cousin of veteran actor Jeetendra filed a police complaint accusing him of sexually abusing her 47 years ago. Jeetendra is the son of the victim's father's sister. 

The complaint was filed against the actor in Shimla. The victim, in her complaint, alleged that the actor took her to a shoot with her father's permission and then allegedly abused her. She said she was 18 years old at the time, and the actor was 28. 

However, Jeetendra's legal counsel and lawyer published a long reply calling the allegation 'ridiculous, baseless and fabricated claims,' Rizwan Siddiquee, maintained that the actor has categorically denied all allegations. 

The reply sent out by the legal counsel suggests that, "Such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any Court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years. The Statute has provided a justice delivery system through the Courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years, so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered." 

It further goes on to say, "the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed company." 

The complaint alleges that the incident took place in January 1971, and was kept hidden under fear of the political reach of Jeetendra. 

This complaint is the first of its kind for the Hindi film industry, unlike its Hollywood counterpart which has seen a number of such complaints arise as part of the #MeToo movement for women.