Actor Sonu Sood appeared before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, on Tuesday, as a witness in the ongoing case pertaining to the firing that took place at producer Karim Morani’s home in 2014, Bar and Bench reported.
The incident dates back to August 23, 2014, when three men allegedly fled after shooting three shots at Morani’s family home in Juhu. In the incident, a bullet scraped a car parked outside the residence and lodged in a tree, as per the Mumbai police. However, there were no injuries in the incident.
At the time, Morani (Chennai Express, Ra.One), who has been embroiled in several controversies throughout his career including being an accused in the 2G Spectrum case and the rape case involving a 25-year-old aspiring actor, alleged that he was targeted by members of Mumbai gangster Ravi Pujari’s gang over a dispute regarding overseas rights of the 2014 Hindi film Happy New Year, produced by the Morani brothers.
The accused were charged with possession of illegal firearms under the Arms Act, attempt to murder, theft, criminal conspiracy, extortion under the Indian Penal Code and transmission of information by using internet to form organised crime syndicate under the MCOCA.
In September 2014, Sood, who also worked in Happy New Year, had told the police that he had received a text message reportedly on August 26 warning him against joining a tour of the film, allegedly sent by Pujari.
On Tuesday, Sood was examined by Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat on behalf of the Crime Branch, Mumbai Police.
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While the actor said he did not remember his exact statement from 2014, he agreed to the statement read out by the Crime Branch.
When Sood was asked if the Morani brothers had informed him about the firing at their home, Sood said he only became aware of the incident from through news channels.
During his appearance on Tuesday, Sood also mentioned that he had not approached any authorities for action regarding the threatening text message he received because he was unaware of the seriousness of it. Instead, he said, he informed the people associated with the film.
Further, Sood denied the defence lawyers’ suggestions that the allegations were a means to promote the film.
Happy New Year also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, besides Sood.