Shiamak Davar sued for sex attacks
Two former dance students make startling claims of a cult and exploitative behaviour
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-05-09 07:15 GMT
Mumbai: Celebrity choreographer Shiamak Davar was accused of sexual assault by two former students this week. According to two lawsuits filed in Canada’s British Columbia, 40-year-old Percy Shroff and 33-year-old Jimmy Mistry claim Davar “is a sexually abusive and controlling leader of a sect called VRRP Spiritual Learning group”. Davar, 53, teaches dance around the world. Hyderabad too has many of his institutes.
In their lawsuits, Shroff and Mistry — former members of Davar’s dance academy — say both suffered “years of unwanted sexual touching” at the hands of the choreographer. They also allege Davar “abused his authority as their spiritual leader to control all aspects of their lives”. “I used to believe that his word was God. I just wanted to please him,” Shroff claimed in an interview with CBC News.
And in a stunning claim, Shroff said Davar had started to groom him for “sexual exploitation” when he was 16 and that he was suing the dance master to “protect his young son”.
The cult and Davar’s “abilities”
In a response to the lawsuits, Davar has claimed that he’s not the leader of the cult, but simply the “custodian”. According to CBC news, VRRP deals with the teachings of Khorsheed Bhavnagari, author of The Laws of the Spirit World, in which she revealed that her two dead sons had been “communicating with her”.
Davar too, has in the past, claimed that he practices what is described as “auto writing” to receive messages from spirits. In a response to the two lawsuits, Davar said the two men were out to “tarnish his character” and his “institute’s reputation”. He has also slammed all accusations and has asked courts to dismiss the two lawsuits.
“Controlling” messages
Shroff, in the interview with CBC said, Davar used “messages” from Bhavnagari to coerce him into sexual acts. Shroff said this control was the reason behind why he travelled from Canada to Mumbai when he was 17, to visit Davar.
“You have to do what you are told. He started kissing my neck, then he told me to lie down on top of him, and he told me to grind my crotch into his crotch,” said Shroff.
Mistry, meanwhile, said he was 18 when Shiamak “invited male dancers to watch TV in his bedroom, wearing only his underwear”.
Both Mistry and Shroff are suing for psychological damages. Shroff insists the lawsuit is not for revenge saying it’s to protect his young son, whom he shares with an ex-wife, who is still part of Davar’s group.
Strangely, the lawsuits claim it’s mandatory for members of VRRP in Canada to reside between 17th and 22nd Street near Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, because the group believes “the area is safe from an imminent apocalypse”.