Actor Jeetu Verma attacked with stones in Chittorgarh, might lose sight

Actor Jeetu Verma, who has appeared in supporting roles in Bollywood films like Bodyguard and Soldier, was attacked while travelling to Jaipur on Thursday, a report says.

According to Mumbai Mirror, the actor was on his way to Jaipur from Mount Abu, when unidentified locals began pelting his car with stones as he was crossing a forest area in Chittorgarh.

“There is a 40-km patch of forest area near Chittorgarh, which is en route. It was broad daylight and Jeetu was sitting next to the driver in the front seat. Suddenly, some locals started pelting their car. The driver picked up speed but the stones kept coming. One hit the windshield and it cracked. Jeetu’s eye was hit and bleeding profusely even as the driver raced away,” his brother Manohar Verma, who is the action director of films like Madras Cafe, Airlift and Neerja, told Mirror.

The actor/businessman, 49, who owns over a dozen horses, runs a training academy for riders and coaches Bollywood actors for riding sequences (he also trained Kangana Ranaut for Rangoon), was carried out of the car at a nearby toll booth, where the police were questioning passengers of two other vehicles that were similarly attacked. He was then taken to Udaipur airport and then flown to Mumbai.

“Meanwhile, the police assessed the vehicle and also recovered the stones that had cracked the glass and fallen into the car. But there needs to be more security. When such occurrences are happening in the region on a daily basis, it is important that stringent measures be taken immediately,” Manohar said, adding, “There was an attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the same region recently (the National award-winning filmmaker was attacked by members of the Karni Sena on the sets of his upcoming historical-drama Padmavati in Jaipur), for very different reasons, but security forces and the police officers were still incompetent. Something needs to be done. Rajasthan cannot become this unsafe!”

Two days after the incident, Jeetu was operated upon. The doctor in charge, S Natarajan, confirmed to Mumbai Mirror that he had a fractured eyebrow, which required 10 stitches, and had lost retinal function in one eye.

Actor Suniel Shetty came to Verma’s aid, his wife Kusum said. “Luckily, in these trying times we have received support from Jeetu’s close friend (actor-producer-businessman) Suniel Shetty. Sunielji arranged for Jeetu to be transported and admitted to this hospital the moment he landed in Mumbai. Now, we hope that he recovers soon and other travellers don’t suffer such horrors in the future.”