Police Arrest Director Shakeel Noorani in Rape Case After Lokhandwala Search
The Malvani police have arrested 73-year-old director Shakeel Noorani following a monthlong manhunt that included search operations at his son's residence in Lokhandwala, Andheri. Noorani was brought to Mumbai on August 8 after being booked on charges including rape, poison administration, and criminal intimidation based on a complaint filed by a 33-year-old aspiring actress.
Following his arrest, Noorani was produced before a local court and remanded in police custody until August 12. His lawyer, Vikas Singh Goar, claimed that the director had been falsely implicated in the case and declined further comment while judicial proceedings remain pending.
According to police officials, Noorani had been evading arrest since the complaint was registered 40 days prior. Investigators initially searched for the director at his son’s residence in Lokhandwala, Andheri, but yielded no result. Law enforcement authorities then used technical surveillance to trace his location to a farmhouse in the Medha locality of Mahabaleshwar, located in Satara district.
With assistance from the local Medha police, who initially took Noorani into custody, a team from the Mumbai Police travelled to Satara district to execute the formal arrest before bringing him to Mumbai on August 8.
The formal case against Noorani was registered on July 10 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He was booked under Section 64(2)(M) for rape, Section 351(2) for criminal intimidation, Section 123 for causing hurt by poison, and Section 88 for causing miscarriage.
In her First Information Report, the 33-year-old complainant alleged that Noorani called her to his Malvani residence under the pretext of discussing a film script, spiked her beverage, and sexually assaulted her. The complainant further alleged that she subsequently suffered a miscarriage after being given poison.
The woman also accused the director of recording the alleged assault and using the video to blackmail her into repeated sexual assaults and forcing her to consume contraceptive pills over several years. The alleged incidents reportedly occurred between 2016 and 2026.
