Rahul Bhatt, son of producer-director Mahesh Bhatt, was arrested by the Bandra police in the wee hours today, for allegedly assaulting ex-VJ Ranvir Shorey. Bhatt (20) was granted bail by the Bandra court later this afternoon.The brawl between Bhatt and Shorey followed after Shorey, under the influence of alcohol, allegedly assaulted Bhatt’s sister, actress Pooja Bhatt. The incident occurred past midnight on Sunday, when Shorey arrived at the Bhatt residence in Bandra. ‘‘He came in with a bottle of wine, he was completely drunk. He continued drinking and I asked him to stop. I snatched the bottle from him and that’s what angered him,’’ said Pooja. ‘‘He pushed me and hit me on the face,’’ she added.Shorey, a friend of the actress, was told to leave. ‘‘My brother went downstairs to ensure that he wouldn’t return. That’s where violence erupted between the two,’’ she said. Bhatt reportedly hit Shorey with a rod. Shorey reportedly suffered injuries behind his ear. He rushed to the police station and lodged an FIR against Bhatt.Pooja is currently recovering from a surgery and therefore feared the assault may have affected her stitches. She was taken to Lilavati Hospital for a check-up. Her brother was arrested around 2.30 am under Section 324 of the IPC (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means). He was produced before the court and was released on a bail of Rs 5,000. Bhatt’s friends believe he has been victimised. ‘‘We have unnecessarily gone through a lot of nonsense. We have been victimised,’’ said director Amit Saxena, who was present at the court and also during the incident.Pooja has reportedly filed a complaint with the Bandra police regarding Shorey’s behaviour, after she returned from Lilavati. ‘‘I informed police that Ranvir assaulted me before anything else happened. I even went to Bhabha Hospital and showed them my wounds,’’ she said. DCP (Zone IX) Bipin Kumar Singh said the police would examine her statement. ‘‘We are now awaiting reports of Shorey’s blood test,’’ he said.Pooja Bhatt is now in the process of deciding whether to take legal action against Shorey. ‘‘My brother reacted the way any man would if he saw a woman from his family being attacked. Our family doesn’t support any form of violence but my brother was just trying to ensure that I was not harmed,’’ Pooja Bhatt explained. According to her, there have been other instances when Shorey had ‘‘created a scene’’ under the influence of alcohol. ‘‘He is a wonderful person by day. But alcohol turns him into a demon. I tried to make him see that but he couldn’t take it. He is just going around playing victim because he is not man enough to accept his weakness,’’ she said.Shorey was not available for comment.
