Actor Huma Khan jailed for assault, torture of minor girl

Thane: Small-time Bollywood actor Huma Khan was sentenced to three-year imprisonment by a court here for assaulting and torturing a minor girl, who worked at her house in Pune as a domestic help. Additional Sessions Judge A Wagvase handed out the sentence yesterday to the 42-year-old actor on charges of abducting and subsequently torturing the 12-year-old daughter of her maid, for eight months in 2007. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 12,000 on Khan. Police had arrested Khan in 2008 along with another accused in the case, Shamiuddin Shaikh, who allegedly raped the girl several times. The court, however, acquitted Shaikh for want of sufficient evidence. Additional Public Prosecutor Hemlata Deshmukh had sought maximum punishment for Khan. The incident dates back to 2007 when Reshma, a Nepalese national, used to work as a housemaid with them at her residence in Mira Road here. In June that year, Khan shifted to Kailash Kanchan apartment at Undari in Pune, where Shaikh was also based. Khan took Reshma`s minor daughter along with her to Pune without informing the mother. There, the girl was assaulted and made to do all household chores, for which Khan would send Rs 1,500 to her mother every month. The actress has done minor roles in more than 20 movies including Salman Khan starrer `Maine Pyar Kiya`, where she played the role of a milkmaid. PTI