Following the Friday broadcast of a documentary on the CBC's the fifth estate program, Percy Shroff and Jimmy Mistry - two of the four dancers featured in the show - are calling on Shiamak Davar to come clean and release his grip on the doomsday sect that has damaged so many young lives.
"The show highlighted and brought back dark memories for me personally, not just about how I was sexually assaulted by Shiamak, but about just how much power and control Shiamak still wields over the lives of his young dancers and sect members- telling them where and how to live, whom to marry, as well as the severe consequences of questioning his authority," Shroff said.Shroff stressed that his motivation in going public is the safety and well-being of his young son who is still being raised within the confines of the sect based in North Vancouver.
"It was disappointing to hear that Shiamak continues to deny the truth about the sect and about what he did to me and Percy," Jimmy Mistry said. "What happened to us should never happen to any young man or woman whose only dream is to dance."And in spite of Shiamak's public denials, Shroff and Mistry are standing firmly by the allegations - including sexual harassment and assault - outlined in their Notices of Civil Claim filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada on May 6, 2015.
Shroff's case is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court of British Columbia from April 24-May 5, 2017 and Mistry's from June 12-23, 2017.
"It's not easy taking on someone of Shiamak Davar's celebrity and status. Percy and Jimmy have brought this action to hold Shiamak to account for what he has done and to hopefully ensure it doesn't happen again to other young dancers within his troupes or dance schools," Bob Cooper, whose Vancouver law firm, Cooper Litigation, is handling the case, said.The fifth estate program can be viewed here: goo.gl/MASfzf
Percy Shroff's Notice of Civil Claim can be viewed here: goo.gl/BpWIhg
Jimmy Mistry's Notice of Civil Claim be viewed here: goo.gl/IcIhZt
