Check CCTV footage, says accused Lemon Salon hairstylist

Sadiq Ansari, who suffered injuries to his eye and hands, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Jogeshwari. Pic/Sameer Abedi

The hairstylist accused of groping a 23-year-old model-turned-actress has pledged innocence in his conversation with mid-day about the alleged incident. Sadiq Ansari has been accused of misbehaving with the woman during her hair spa treatment inside Lemon Salon at Andheri's Lokhandwala market. "I have been working as a hairstylist at Lemon salon for the past three months. Our job is to provide services to our customers. No one has ever accused me of misbehaviour. She is the first customer to make such an allegation against me."

"I am a poor but law-abiding person," said Ansari, who lives in Malwani with his uncle. "My parents live in Bijnor. I came to Mumbai to earn money for my poor parents and siblings. I am aware of the legal consequences of sexually harassing a female customer. I am a professional hairstylist and know that one mistake can ruin my career. The entire salon is under the surveillance of CCTV camera. If I have done anything wrong with her, my actions must be recorded in it," added Ansari, who was brutally beaten by the actress' boyfriend and his brother after the alleged incident on the evening of May 16.

Admitted to a private hospital in Jogeshwari, Ansari has been under the watch of Oshiwara Police with whom the actress has registered a molestation case. The hairstylist will be arrested once he is discharged from the hospital. "We had kept him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) since he had multiple injuries around his right eye. Also, the middle finger of his right hand has a deep cut made with a sharp-edged weapon. It needed eight stitches. He has now been shifted to the general ward," said a doctor treating Ansari.

'Beaten mercilessly'

Recalling the May 16 incident, Ansari said, "We have to massage the head and shoulder of a person during a hair spa session. Before beginning the shoulder massage, the consent of the customer is mandatory. Once her head massage was done, I asked if she wanted a shoulder massage and began only after she nodded. That's when she said I was misbehaving with her. I said I was not doing anything wrong and yet apologised," said Ansari, adding, "She then complained to the manager who asked me to leave and another stylist Farhan was asked to continue her spa. Meanwhile, she called someone to narrate this."

"Around 8.30 pm that day, Abhimanyu Chaudhary and his brother Anurag reached the salon and started thrashing Ansari mercilessly. They dragged him out of the salon and one of them took out a knife. We jumped to his rescue but the man with a chopper threatened us," said his colleague Shahnawaz Mansoori. "He then punched him on the right eye with the butt of his chopper."

"One of them even pushed the owner of the salon and molested my female colleague," Ansari added as he thanked his colleagues and salon owner Qurat Deshmukh for saving his life. "The actress has created nuisance in my salon to defame us. She has not paid a single penny for her hair spa which cost around Rs 2,500. I am planning to approach the court regarding this," said Deshmukh.

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