Driver files complaint against socialite for slapping him

Socialite Poonam Bhagat’s former driver filed a complaint against her for allegedly assaulting and abusing him outside her residence on Sunday.

Bhagat, a prominent figure in Mumbai’s social circuit, has been in the news lately due to her divorce with industrialist Jaidev Shroff. After 11 years of marriage, Shroff filed a divorce petition in the family court in October 2015.

In his complaint, the driver, Kunwar Singh, has alleged that Bhagat asked him to lie on her behalf in their divorce case. When Singh refused, Bhagat got angry and slapped him. Singh had gone to the socialite’s Pali Hill residence to drop her daughter.

While speaking to Mid-Day, Singh said, “I have been driving for their daughter since she was born. She was returning from Goa today (Sunday), and told Shroff sir to send me to pick her up from the airport. I dropped her at the Bhagat residence when Poonam ma’am asked me why I had spoken on Shroff sir’s behalf. I explained that I had only said the truth, but Poonam ma’am began slapping and hitting me near my eye.”

Singh further stated that he was not for sale and had no intention of lying in court.

When contacted, an official from Khar police station confirmed that since Singh did not suffer any serious injuries, a non-cognisable offence has been registered against Bhagat.

The socialite, while speaking the leading daily, denied the charges leveled against her and stated that the driver has filed a false complaint to frame her. She also added that there are CCTV cameras at her residence and she will take the footage to the cops to prove that she did not slap Singh.