Mahmood Farooqui, 'Peepli Live' co-director, convicted for raping a US woman

A Delhi court on Saturday convicted Peepli Live co-director Mahmood Farooqui for raping a 35-year-old US woman who had come down to India for research related work. [caption id=“attachment_2924896” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mahmood Farrooqi, co-director of Peepli Live, with co-producer and actor Amir Khan. Facebook page grab.[/caption] According to a Hindustan Times report, the woman told the police that she was raped by Farooqi at his South Delhi residence on 28 March last year. Delhi Police had arrested Farooqi last year, after the Columbia University research scholar who had come down for her doctoral thesis complained to the police on 19 June, 2015. Farooqi had denied the allegations, saying he was being falsely implicated. However, on 9 September, the Saket court started the trial after the police framed charges against Farooqi under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The victim had initially met Farooqi in Varanasi, through a friend who is also a witness in the case. One of the investigating officers said that Farooqi got drunk in the party and took the woman in a room where he ‘forced’ himself on her. The court has scheduled 2 August as the date to declare the quantum of punishment.