Actor Rajpal Yadav was sentenced by the Delhi High Court to three months of civil prison on 1 December for failing to repay a Rs 5 crore loan which he and his wife had taken in 2010 to fund his film Ata Pata Laapata. He was taken into custody by the Delhi Police after the verdict was delivered.
Hindustan Times reports that the 47-year-old actor performed a comedy act as part of a kavi sammelan programme to a huge audience of inmates in Tihar jail.
One of the jail officers said, “There were several poets on the stage but Yadav made sure everyone laughed. Everyone was awestruck to see a celebrity on stage...this is the first time in decades that the jail has had a popular actor as an inmate.”
Joginder Singh Sehrawat, superintendent of jail number 7, where Yadav is currently lodged affirmed that inmate number 252’s conduct has been good and that he has not made any demands for celebrity treatment. He is also set to reportedly work on a play for Christmas.
In April, Yadav was sentenced by a Delhi court to six months of jail after being convicted in seven cases of bouncing cheques. He was also directed to pay a fine of Rs 11.2 crore, i.e., Rs 1.6 crore for each case. The actor was subsequently granted bail after he furnished a personal bond of Rs 50,000.
In 2013, Yadav spent four days in jail from 3 December to 6 December, following which a division bench of the High Court suspended his sentence on his appeal. The owner of Delhi-based company Murli Projects filed a recovery suit against the actor and his wife for failing to pay back a loan of Rs 5 crore. When hearing the recovery suit, a single judge bench ordered Yadav to be sent to jail for 10 days for contempt for filing an allegedly falsely prepared affidavit with forged signatures of his wife.
Rajpal Yadav is known for his comedic roles in Bollywood films such as Hungama, Hera Pheri, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Bhoothnath.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)