Shiney Ahuja's wife says actor is innocent

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The wife of Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, charged with raping his teenaged maid, on Wednesday said her husband was being punished for a crime he did not commit.

"This is a frame-up. I don't know the reasons," Anupam Ahuja told a news conference in Mumbai.

"Maybe he is a celebrity, maybe he is a soft target, maybe all celebrities are soft targets."

A Mumbai court had on Monday remanded Shiney Ahuja, 36, to three days in police custody.

The actor faces a prison sentence of at least seven years if found guilty of rape, criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement charges.

"I have known Shiney Ahuja for the last 15 years, we are soulmates. He is my man," Anupam Ahuja said.

Friends and neighbours of the Bollywood actor also spoke in his defence at the news conference.

Ahuja denied media reports that her husband had confessed to the crime.