Filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui acquitted of rape charges

Bollywood filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui has been released from jail after successfully appealing his 2016 conviction for rape.
The Peepli Live co-director was sentenced to seven years behind bars last year (16) after he was found guilty of raping an American student in her 30s at his home in Delhi, India in 2015 while helping her with a research project.
Farooqui, who always denied the allegations, challenged the ruling and on Monday (25Sep17), he was acquitted by officials at the Delhi High Court, who ordered his immediate release.
Judges at the High Court sided with 45-year-old Farooqui after his lawyer presented messages exchanged between the star and his alleged victim, indicating they had been in a “relationship”, according to the Times of India.
The star’s wife, fellow director Anusha Rizvi, stood by her husband throughout his ordeal, and expressed her family’s gratitude that justice has finally been granted.
In a statement obtained by the Delhi Times, she said: “All the family members and friends of Mahmood Farooqui are relieved. We followed the law to the T. We had faith in the justice system of the country. We were shocked when the trial court had convicted him and that’s why we took the matter to the High Court. Given the evidence he has now been acquitted.”