Film producer to be arrested for public firing

Mumbai: Finding his heroic and flattering account of rescuing a female colleague from the clutches of a perverse molester a bit of a stretch on their discerning imagination, Oshiwara cops are now considering the idea of arresting Sauraj Singh, the complainant in Saturday's Oshiwara firing case, on charges of misleading the police. S Rupwate, senior inspector at Oshiwara police station, revealed yesterday that investigating cops have discerned many logistical and logical loopholes in the statement made by Singh -- a producer of B-grade films -- about the incidents that led him to fire a shot from his revolver.

Twist in the tale

Since no witnesses have corroborated Sauraj Singh's (in red) elaborate account, and the paani puri vendor who features in the statement has not confirmed his claims, cops suspect that Singh may be hiding something or pulling a publicity stunt.

A kinght's tale?

His statement makes Singh appear like a knight in shining armour. Singh had supplied the information that he was at an Oshiwara-based restaurant with a female colleague at 10:30 pm on Saturday. When the two stepped out to the paan shop outside the restaurant, a man approached them, and passed offensive and lascivious remarks about the girl.

Singh claimed that the goon then tried to grab the woman, but he confronted the molester, pushing him away; facing resistance, the goon scooted.

Relieved, Singh accompanied his friend to a nearby paanipuri shop, but the goon soon returned, this time brandishing a knife, Singh said. When he resisted, the goon attacked him, Singh claimed. It was then that he drew out his .32 revolver and fired a shot in the air in an attempt to scare the goon; hearing the shot, the goon fled from the spot, and the producer approached the police and registered a complaint, Singh told cops.

Not adding up

Rupwate, however, said that the producer may have fired the shot simply to flaunt his weapon. No other witnesses have been identified to corroborate Singh's version of the incident. Cops also spoke to the paanipuri vendor stationed at the spot, who could not second Singh's flamboyant testimony. Moreover, Singh has sustained an injury on the inner side of his arm, which is unlikely from a knife stab inflicted by another individual. "We suspect that Singh fabricated the entire story. We have also recovered a knife from the back seat of his car, which suggests that Singh has been falsifying the truth. This may well be an elaborate publicity stunt," said Rupwate.

Cops are now on the lookout for the unidentified 45-year-old man, to whom Singh has attributed the attack. "If we find that Singh has spun a web of lies, we will register a case against him, for misleading cops and misfiring his weapon," added Rupwate.

Police sources said that Singh may have misfired his weapon, and authored the incident to escape punishment. The fact that his narrative bears suspicious resemblance to the Amboli double murder case has strengthened the cops' misgivings about the authenticity of Singh's account.