Koena Mitra, who is best
known for her popular Bollywood item number Saki Saki from Musafir is hitting
headlines lately. And it isn’t about any new film or a song but about her
imprisonment.
Former Bollywood actress Koena Mitra has been sentenced to six
months in prison in a cheque-bouncing case. Recently, during a media
interaction, the actress said that she has been framed and she will challenge
the order in a higher court.
The
case was registered against Koena in accordance with a complaint lodged by
model Poonam Sethi in 2013. Following this, Koena was asked to pay Rs 4.64
lakh, of which Rs 1.64 lakh was interest component, to complainant Sethi.
“It
is a court matter, so obviously we will go to the higher court to challenge the
order. The higher court will give us an order and only then can we talk about
it. Right now, I don’t have anything to say except that it’s a fraud case and I
am being framed,” Koena told over phone from Mumbai.
Sethi’s
complaint states that Koena had, over time, borrowed Rs 22 lakh from her. When
the actor gave Sethi a cheque of three lakh rupees as part of the repayment, it
bounced, reportedly for ‘want of funds’.
At
the Andheri Metropolitan court in Mumbai, Magistrate Ketaki Chavan rejected
Koena’s arguments, which included her claim that Sethi could not afford to lend
her Rs 22 lakh.
Koena
said that her lawyer wasn’t present in the court during the final argument, so
the order was passed without her side of the argument being presented. She
added that her lawyers are currently working on a challenge plea.
“My
advocate has to appear for the final argument, too, and the magistrate didn’t
give me a chance. We will challenge this order in the higher court,” said
Koena.
The magistrate said if Mitra failed to pay the compensation
amount to Sethi, she will have to undergo further imprisonment for three
months. Koena was recently in news for criticising Batla House song, 'O
Saki Saki' featuring Nora Fatehi. The original song was featured in the movie ‘Musafir’
and it was picturised on Sanjay Dutt and Koena Mitra.