Rakhi Sawant and Adil Durrani on their marriage day. (Courtesy: RakhiSawant)
Actress Rakhi Sawant is in the news for all the wrong reasons, yet again. Over the last several days, her soured equation with estranged husband Adil Khan Durrani has played out in the public eye much like an over-the-top daily soap. There have been accusations of violence and cheating from both sides and Adil Durrani, a businessman, even spent a considerable time in jail after Rakhi Sawant filed a few cases against him. Upon being released, Adil Durrani approached the media and stirred up the proverbial hornet's nest with a bunch of allegations about the actress, including claims that she was also already married to one Ritesh Singh when she exchanged vows with Adil Durrani. Adil Durrani's interview and press conference was countered by Rakhi Sawant's own press meeting. This, in turn, led to another bunch of interviews where Adil Durrani shared more allegations.
The issue at a glance
After making their relationship public in 2022, Rakhi Sawant and Adil Khan Durrani announced their wedding in January 2023. When Rakhi accused Adil Khan Durrani of domestic violence and cheating, it was revealed that Rakhi and Adil have been married since May 2022. In February 2023, Rakhi filed an FIR against Adil Durrani under sections 406 420, 498 [A] and 377 of the IPC. Adil was subsequently arrested and released on bail after spending nearly five months in Mysuru jail.
Now, let us take a look at some of the allegations that the estranged partners have levelled at each other and the clarifications that followed.
1. Adil Khan accuses Rakhi Sawant of falsely framing him in cases: In his press conference, Adil Khan Durrani alleged that Rakhi Sawant has falsely implicated him in cases that led to his arrest. Instead, he alleged that it was Rakhi Sawant who hit him and cheated him during the course of their relationship.
He also shared that the rape charges levelled at him by an Irani woman were also done at the behest of Rakhi Sawant, who Adil claims paid the complainant money to press false charges. He said that he had briefly known the complainant and rescued her financially. He also denied any sort of sexual intercourse with the woman. "She [Rakhi Sawant] gave that Irani girl Rs 3 lakh in cash and promised to make her a star. She even told her they could extract Rs 25 to 30 lakhs from me. She took help from her and went to Mysore police station to lodge an FIR against me for rape. She said that she knows me for 5 years and I raped her one-and-a-half years ago. Why did she wait so long to complain?" he said in the press conference.
Rakhi Sawant's clarification: The actress meanwhile shared that Adil Durrani spent only 22 days in jail on account of her complaint. The rest, she said, was due to the rape case. She said, “Kya duniya ko itna nahi pata ki woh jo 6 mahina jail mein rehkar aaye woh Rakhi Sawant ke liye nahi rahe? Unki Irani girlfriend ne waha pe unpe rape ka case lagaya hai. Mere liye nahi rahe hai woh. Mere liye yaha 22 din the jo mujhe mara tha, mujhe torture kiya tha ((Is everybody not aware that the last few months that he was in jail wasn't because of Rakhi Sawant? His Irani girlfriend filed a rape case against him there. He wasn't there because of me. For me, he was in jail for 22 days because he beat me up, and tortured me. I saw him having sex with other girls, with men too, in my house. He tried to beat me in Dubai, here too. I was silent.)"
2. Rakhi Sawant accuses Adil Durrani of rape: In her press conference, Rakhi Sawant has accused Adil Durrani of raping her and recording her nude images. Adding that she met Adil through a friend Shelly on the pretext of getting a car, she said, “I told Shelly to send the car to Mumbai but Adil insisted that I come to Mysuru. He had made a plan to trap me. I took my brother Rajiv with me. I had asked Adil to book two rooms but he made sure they were apart. Adil came to my room. Somebody he knew came there and locked us from outside. And I shouldn't tell you more. There are three witnesses to this - Uorfi Javed, Shelly and Rajeev. It took him three hours to tear my clothes. I decided to go to the police station and file a complaint. I called Uorfi and asked her what to do. She was my best friend then. She said, 'I will send you a car, you come, we will get your hotel changed...Adil said, 'Don't be sad, you are a nice girl, I want to marry you and live with you'. It changed my heart.” Adil Durrani has denied the allegations.
3. Rakhi Sawant accuses Adil Durrani of selling her nude videos: In the press conference, Rakhi Sawant also accused Adil Durrani of recording and selling her nude videos for Rs 47 lakh. Speaking about the videos, she said, "I am in the bathroom and he's shooting. Aise bohot saare videos. Mera full body nude dikh rahe hai. I was quiet. I was his wife and he was raping me in the house. Videos viral ho jayenga na fir kya karu main. Zaher kha jau, suicide kar lu, kaha jau? Pure duniya mere nude video dekhne ke baad kaha jau? Kidhar jau, kaunse samaj mein rahu? Tell me where should I go? How to show my face to the world? Mai normal ladki nehi hu, India ke celebrity hu, ek brand hu. Within one-year mera talaq kar diya use. (What will I do if my videos go viral? Should I consume poison and die? Where will I go if the whole world sees my nude images?)" she told Pinkvilla.
Adil Durrani's clarification: In his interview with Siddharth Kannan, Adil Durrani denied all the rape charges and also said that explicit content featuring Rakhi Sawant has been available online for years now. He said, “Rakhi Sawant is extremely interested in recording nude videos…She created a group “Rakhi Sawant Important Updates” on February 9 after I was arrested on February 7. In the group, she has shared nude videos that she has recorded of me…She shared the content in the group with paparazzi members…I also have a pen drive to show when these nude videos were deleted by Rakhi Sawant in the group…She wanted members of the media to share the videos and announce that Adil has sold the videos for Rs 47 lakh.”
4. Adil Durrani accuses Rakhi Sawant of being married to Ritesh Singh: The businessman accused the actress of cheating on him and lying to him about getting divorced from her previous husband, Ritesh Singh. He also shared that Rakhi and Ritesh were pursuing an illicit relationship in London. In his interview with Bollywood Bubble, Adil Durrani said: “I was in Dubai. She comes back normally. Her phone used to be with me, mine with her. I, one day, saw some messages. Aur wo itne gande thay just imagine mujhe kya feel hua hoga. Wo bolti hai Ritesh [Singh] maine galti karli hai Adil se shaadi karke tum meri jaan ho. Mere 7 din aapke saath bahut ache rahe hai, main bhul nahi sakti. Aur jo bhi tumhare saath hua wo memories mujhe yaad aagaye hai. [One day I saw some vulgar messages on her phone. She was telling Ritesh [Singh] that she regrets getting married to me. I will always cherish the memories we made during these seven days.] How should I feel? I was like ye kya ho raha hai. [What is happening?]”
Rakhi Sawant's clarification: When asked about why she introduced Ritesh Singh as her husband on Bigg Boss a few years ago she said, "Yes, I introduced Ritesh as my husband in Bigg Boss, but later I got to know that he hadn't divorced his wife, so our marriage was null and void. I used to keep in touch with Ritesh through messages occasionally, but I never met him after I married Adil in May 2022. Adil is lying that I continued to meet Ritesh."
Rakhi Sawant during her press conference also called Ritesh Singh to share his thoughts. Over a video call, he said, "My first question is why is the video not with the police. He is trying to create a scandal by speaking to the media. How Rakhi and I met is already known. He smartly used everything against Rakhi, he has intentionally used things against Rakhi. It was a plan set by him to gain publicity and become famous. Rakhi was very loyal to him. I am in support of her. She is a friend, is loyal and speaks the truth." He also clarified that he wasn't in London when Rakhi visited the country. He showed his passport too.
Adil Durrani's counterclaim: Adil Durrani pointed out that it is possible to travel from Greece to London via train or by road. In some cases, a separate visa is not required to travel to London from Greece, so Ritesh Singh showing his passport proves nothing, Adil Durrani said.
5. Adil Durrani accuses Rakhi Sawant of domestic violence, financial exploitation: Adil accused Rakhi of beating him brutally whenever he tried talking to her about their personal issues. He also alleged that she had misused his finances and that she owed him money.
Rakhi Sawant's version: The actress said that Adil Durrani is a fraudulent businessman and that he has no money. “I want to ask him if his card works internationally. I never used to work. I used to pay. I have paid from my account. You can see if Adil has put any money into it. He bought me a fake necklace from a mall or 2000 dirhams to show his status to other people,” and added that he robbed her of Rs 10 lakh when she was a contestant in Bigg Boss Marathi, as per Etimes.
Adil Durrani's counterclaim: In addition to rubbishing Rakhi Sawant's claim, Adil Durrani said that he is ready to share his bank statements in court to prove that it was him paying for Rakhi Sawant's expenses and luxury purchases and not the other way round.
6. Pregnancy: Adil Durrani had also claimed that Rakhi Sawant could not be a mother following a uterus operation. However, this suggestion was quashed by Rakhi Sawant and her doctor. The doctor in a video said, “Rakhi can become a mother. Her uterus is fine," and clarified that her uterus wasn't removed instead fibroids from the uterus were removed.
Further, Rakhi Sawant said during the press conference that she was pregnant with Adil Durrani's child but suffered a miscarriage after three months. She said, "I was pregnant. He mentally tortured me. My mother was in the hospital. I had just come out of Bigg Boss Marathi when I learnt about his affairs. I was so stressed, I started bleeding. The miscarriage happened. I went to the doctor. He kept saying nothing had happened. I didn't abort the child. He tortured me so much that I miscarried."