The Nawazuddin Siddiqui and wife Aaliya divorce case took a new turn when the name of a third person surfaced on Wednesday. Some media reports hinted at an alleged affair between Aaliya, aka Anjana Kishor Pandey, and media personnel and common friend, Peeyush Pandey. Speaking to Bombay Times, Peeyush has flatly rubbished all such talk.
As per a Times of India report, a picture of Aaliya and Peeyush was published in some reports. Reacting to the news, Peeyush was quoted in Times of India as saying, “I got to know about their divorce notice through the media. I am the scapegoat here. These link-up rumours are completely baseless and ridiculous! Why am I being dragged into this? I have nothing to do with this. People around them know about their feud and what is going on between them (estranged relationship). I want to stay away from it. Why is my name and reputation being tarnished? I am in a relationship with someone and this sort of rumour is extremely distasteful. This puts me in a spot with my family and friends. Luckily, my better half is aware of the truth as she is also friends with Aaliya. I will consult my lawyer as to what needs to be done to safeguard my interests.”
The report added that the said photo of Aaliya and Peeyush had been cropped. The original photo has three people in it — Aaliya, Peeyush and his girlfriend. The picture had reportedly been Aaliya’s What’s App display picture till sometime back.
Talking about the photo, Peeyush has been further quoted as saying: “That picture was taken at a party and there were over 20 people here. We all click pictures. It’s a normal thing to do. If there are three people in the picture and you crop it and use two people, you can claim whatever you want to.”
The report further said that Peeyush had been associated with Nawazuddin professionally in the past and had worked with him closely for three years. He used to handle the actor as his talent manager.
On May 18, the news broke that Aaliya had filed for divorce. Aaliya’s lawyer had told Zee News that the notice had been sent to Nawazuddin via email and WhatsApp on May 7.
“Yes, it is to confirm that we have sent a legal notice to Mr Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The notice was sent on behalf of Mrs Aaliya Siddiqui on May 7, 2020. Due to unprecedented Covid-19 times, the notice could not be sent through speed post. It has been sent through email as well as WhatsApp. Mrs Siddiqui, our client, has also sent the notice through WhatsApp. However, Mr Siddiqui has not responded till date. I think he is just keeping quiet regarding the notice and ignoring it. The notice has been sent claiming maintenance and divorce. I would not like to get into the details of the notice regarding what are the contents and what are the allegations, but let me tell you that the allegations are quite serious and those are very sensitive to Mr Siddiqui as well as his family members,” the lawyer said.
