Exclusive: Actor Kadambari on illegal arrest - was dragged, abducted and dumped

The Mumbai-based actor said the police officers "deprived me of all my human rights" and "dragged me, abducted me and dumped me". 

In Short

• Three senior Andhra police officers suspended over actor's illegal arrest
• Actor claims arrest caused her to miss court dates in rape case
• Seeks justice, protection from Andhra government

Mumbai-based actor Kadambari Jethwani, whose wrongful arrest led to the suspensions of three senior Andhra Pradesh police officers, opened up about her ordeal in a conversation with India Today TV. Kadambari said that the police officers “deprived me of all my human rights” and “dragged me, abducted me and dumped me”.

The actor also spoke about a rape complaint that she had filed against a Mumbai-based industrialist. An investigation into her complaint was shut after, among other factors, the actor allegedly failed to show up during the course of the probe.

However, in her conversation with India Today TV, Kadambari alleged that it was her illegal arrest and detention by the Andhra Pradesh Police that led to her being unavailable for the court dates in the matter.

In the interview, Kadambari also alleged that a “high level of power and manipulation and money” was involved in her illegal arrest.

“Everybody in Mumbai and a lot of people in Andhra have tried their best to use money power to hit me below the belt. This entire case was to crush my spirit, you know, to put me in my place,” Kadambari said, before adding that she has faith in the Andhra Pradesh government to investigate the case fully.

"I believe the investigation is in the right direction,” the actor said, adding that she wants her “freedom back”.

Here is the full transcript of Kadambari’s interview with India Today TV:

Q) Thank you so much for speaking with India Today. What would you like to say about your side of the story?

A) What is a matter of grave concern and what needs to be brought to light is the fact that I and my elderly parents, my entire family rather, were harassed before we were arrested illegally on a foisted false and fabricated case and harassed during custody to serve higher ulterior motives and vested interests. This needs to come to light. This is the crux of the entire matter and the current government of Andhra Pradesh has taken up the investigation to bring the facts to light and to unearth all the wrongdoings that were committed in this entire manipulation, in this entire charade.

Slowly but surely, all the facts are coming up, of the dereliction of duty by these civil servants and even lower ranking police officials. But guided or misguided by, I'm sure, higher powers with the involvement of a lot of money, which is keeping the machinery very well oiled. So, their dereliction of duty, which led to, you know, a thorough harassment of a completely innocent family for their own vested interests.

Q) You and your entire family were taken and were illegally detained for several days. All this while, there was a trial hearing that was going on based on a complaint that you had filed, which further led to you being unavailable for the said court hearing and the case being closed. Let us know a little more about the ordeal.

A) The said case in Mumbai whose investigation process was ongoing until February 9. Everything was orchestrated by people in Andhra and people in Mumbai and a lot of them, you know, a lot of co-conspirators, such that I would be present with all my electronic devices on this particular day, on this particular time, on the 3rd exactly. And beforehand, these Andhra police officers would be present even before the filing of a formal complaint against me, and they would just abduct me without letting me call for legal aid or without even informing my relatives. So, this happened, this illegal abduction and illegal seizing of all my property happened on February 3. I was obviously unavailable for the court dates - to attend from 5th to 9th February.

The very reputed Mumbai Police simply shut off the case by citing that we contacted this girl and her cell phone was unavailable. ‘She's not available at the residence, and she has just wasted court's time. She just vanished into thin air.’ Now, I need to clarify this because they've maligned me and my name. That's why I'm clarifying this. That's why I felt the need to clarify this. Somebody, a girl who has filed a complaint of that gravity, deserves protection. So, instead of giving me protection, they just alleged that the girl had vanished and they were unbothered.

You know, after fighting an ordeal to have that complaint lodged for 10 months. The girl simply vanished and they were very, yeah, they were very okay with that. What told me about the conspiracy was a letter sent by DCP Dixit Gedam, Zone 8 BKC on the 6th of February to the Commissionerate Vijayawada. He sent a letter to them enquiring about me and my health. So, they knew. Mumbai Police knew that I was there. Yeah, they knew about my whereabouts. They still wrote in the closure report that the girl had simply vanished, and she had wasted court time. Hence, we don't know where she is and we are closing the case.

Q) You mentioned a letter that a Mumbai BKC officer, a senior rank official, had written to the Commissionerate in Vijayawada and asked about your whereabouts. This even as they had, you know, mentioned in the closure report that they knew nothing about your whereabouts. This was a case that had been going on for almost 10 months. You weren't able to reach out to them, your phones were seized. Were you able to receive any kind of help during that period? Were there threats while you were held captive? You, your parents, your family?

A) The entire motive behind harassing me was to not give me help. It was to isolate me and just make me disappear. That was the entire motive and the purpose of the case was to threaten me, harass me, which is, which was the entire motive of them, you know. And just illegally seize my evidence because they had planned the orchestration in such a way that I would be present there at that point of time to be abducted. The Andhra people, these higher officials in Andhra and these people have no reason to have spied against me.

I kept pleading, I kept crying for them to show their IDs, because I feared I was being kidnapped or just being taken to be murdered, you know. They did not show me their IDs, they did not show me an FIR, they did not show me a search warrant, they did not let me place a single call for legal aid, which is my fundamental right. They did not let me make a phone call to any of my relatives, which is again my constitutional right. They deprived me of all my human rights, just dragged me, abducted me and dumped me.

Q) You raised this complaint, you had made charges against one of the top Mumbai industrialists. Recently, it came to light when several politicians in Andhra Pradesh also talked about how they had met with (former Chief Minister) Jagan Mohan Reddy recently. You are on record stating that it was (the industrialist) who had orchestrated all this to ensure that you were taken away during an ongoing case where you had made rape allegations against him.

A) I have stated the facts of how deceivingly the Mumbai Police closed the case and how I was deceived into being dumped in Andhra Pradesh for a long duration of time. I stated the facts. Now, you know, I'm a very hard-working woman. I'm a throughout distinction holder medical doctor and an actor on my own merits. I didn't have familial support. I worked hard all my life to achieve whatever little I have achieved, and I'm very proud of it. So, the point here is that none of my family members have ever had a civil or forgotten criminal. Not even a civil complaint, allegation, a case against a criminal is like our worst nightmares. So, this happened to us and the Andhra people have no spite against me like I mentioned, you know, they have no reason to do this to us. We are an innocent family. You know, so I just want to bring to light what we went through and the circumstances entailing all of this, you know, involving all of this.

Q) Now you have approached the Andhra government. Three IPS officers have been suspended after they failed to follow due procedure with respect to handling your case. You met with the new Andhra government. What are your demands?

A) I'm just honestly requesting them to promptly bring the facts to light after obviously thorough investigation. These three IPS officers were suspended after prima facie evidence was available against them. They showed undue interest in arresting me before even a complaint was lodged against me. On the 31st itself, they had planned everything and one of the IPS (officers) had even landed in Mumbai at the time of lodging of the complaint.

My only request to the Andhra government is to promptly bring the facts to light and promptly bring the falsity of the case to light. And just freely. Free me of all this news that, you know, is tightened around me and my family. I met the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Anita Vangalpud. She very patiently heard all my sufferings that we had gone through. And I requested her to promptly take me from this false case. Because I have gone through a lot of financial, emotional, physical, mental toll on our health. I deserve my freedom back. And secondly, we did ask her for some security to be given to all of us. Because we were just apprehending dangers to our lives. So she did assure us that the state would take care of our security, and we would be freed from this false harassment as soon as they can.

Q. You have voiced how difficult it has been over these several months. Whatever you had to endure, your family being illegally detained, threats made to your siblings.

A) The nightmare that I've been through. I was in denial for a very long period of time, you know, for a law-abiding, honest, innocent family for them to see these days. I was in denial. I didn’t believe for a very long period of time that this was happening, but then it was happening, and I was so helpless for a very long period of time because I had nobody to contact. I didn't have any help, I had no other option but to have faith in God during those days and, just sail by, just endure the days and God did show me the light of the day. I did get help, we did get it on those days, and now we are at a point where my innocence is being proven. It is coming to light how falsely we were harassed. If my suffering can ensure that this doesn't happen to any other innocent family, then it was worth it. I at least expect that change to happen after this. That's what I want to be.

Q. Will you still pursue this case, the case that started all this wherein you were abducted and illegally detained?

A) Right now, my only prayer is for my freedom back. I want my life back. You know, I've been through a lot. I did not deserve this. I want to go back to where I was taken away from. That's all I want right now. I just want normalcy right now. I’m not the daughter of a powerful man. I worked very hard all my life to get whatever I wanted, but so much power has ganged up on me. I’m surprised that I’m still alive and breathing and, you know, able to function at whatever level. I am actually surprising myself after all that has happened to me, after all the power that has ganged up on me, I just hope it doesn't happen to anybody.

Q) What kind of measures or action would you want the Andhra Pradesh government to take with respect to this case?

A) So all the culprits, all the co-conspirators that were involved in harassing an absolutely innocent family, deserve to face the consequences of what they did because they've done it very knowingly. They've done it for their ulterior interests, and you believe at some all of this uh was orchestrated and this was in the knowledge of the former, you know, the YSRCP chief, be it Jagan Reddy or leaders like Sarjala. I just know that a very high level of power and manipulation and money is involved in making such an orchestration happen. So I know there is a lot of power and money fuelling it. It wouldn't have fuelled without money and power. To what level this was manipulated and to what level of the hierarchy, you know, this venom had been draining from that's a matter of investigation.

I urged the government to unearth all the facts and, you know, this one YSRCP leader who has now been arrested in this case is just merely, you know, ‘bakra’ (scapegoat). I have known this person from 2009, you know, he claimed to be besotted with me till a few days before my arrest. I have rejected his marriage proposal, he has always been in contact with me, and has still always tried to be in touch with me. My quandary here is that he doesn't have a reason to wreak vengeance on me and my family, he has eaten dinners prepared by my mother, you know, and just like I mentioned a few days before my arrest, he was talking with me like, you know, very casually. So, like I rightly mentioned, but mentioning the fact that this man had at least 18 criminal cases registered against him till 2015, I don't know how many after that.

This man has a certain degree of experience of criminal behaviour. I would say he's an accused, but having faced the wrong side of the law a number of times, he does have the experience. So he did have the expertise, but he didn't have a reason to wreak so much vengeance. So I believe he has worked in collusion with other people who are more powerful, much more powerful and moneyed than him. He doesn't, I believe, he doesn't even have that kind of money because, from what I found on the internet, his father had also auctioned properties that his father had passed on to him, so I feel it's not in his capacity to orchestrate something of this level. Facts have to be unearthed though.

Q) When you were taken away, and you were in Vijayawada, in the heart of the city, where you weren't able to get legal aid or medical help, or even a friendly face to speak to while propaganda was happening on the other side, a crucial case was going on in Mumbai where you were the complainant, and you named one of the powerful industrialists there. Do you think it was fair to portray you in that way?

A) Everybody in Mumbai and a lot of people in Andhra have tried their best to use money power to hit me below the belt, just shaming me, crushing my spirit. This entire case was to crush my spirit, to put me in my place. I mean how dare she, who she is, how dare she think about doing what she has done. So I believe they did succeed to a lot of extent in crushing me and my family, in breaking our spirit. They're still continuing with the propaganda of falsely character assassinating me and falsely levelling allegations against me. I would still maintain that before this false case, there was never even a civil allegation against me or my family members. Forget criminals, we have worked all our lives to earn goodwill.

I had to fight this because I'm fighting people who are maligning my name. I'm fighting for my honour, I’m fighting for my dignity and nobody should be allowed to take it from me. But, all these powerful people are still doing it, they are doing it because I can't equate them with power, they continue to do it.

Q) Do you hope for normalcy to return soon?

A) I believe the investigation is in the right direction and I have faith in god. I have faith in the current Andhra Pradesh government that they will bring the truth to light and I have faith in the truth. At the end of the day, there's a saying that you can’t defeat the truth, you may trouble the truth, so I have faith in myself and some good people and god at large that I’m on the path of getting my life back.

I will never go back to what I was because the damage is done, it's all over the newspapers, it's all over, my name is everywhere, and who wants their name in a controversy? No hard-working, honest citizen wants their name in a controversy. I've never been involved in any controversy before this. The scar is indelible, the scar will never go away. But whatever I can get back after this mishap, after this, you know, critical accident, I want that part of my life back.