‘Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi’ actor Payal Ghosh recently accused ace filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment. The incident dates back to 2014. Yesterday evening, Ghosh filed an official FIR with Versova police in Mumbai against Kashyap.
Her advocate Nitin Satpute said he will also be writing to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to provide security, as there is a threat to her life.
Ghosh and her lawyer had visited the police station on Monday, however, they were asked to come back with a written complaint. The police officer said matter will be probed since the incident dates back to six years and subsequently further course of action will be decided.
After an FIR was registered on Tuesday evening, Satpute said,
An FIR has been lodged for rape, wrongful restraint, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement and outraging the modesty of a woman U/S 376, 354, 341, 342 of IPC. The statement of the victim has been recorded.
We were asked to file the case under Versova police station since the incident occurred within their jurisdiction.
Finally FIR has been lodged against Accused for the offence Rape, Wrongful Restrain, Wrongful Confinement and outraging modesty of woman U/S 376(1), 354, 341, 342 of IPC, @iampayalghosh @ANI @PTI_News @NCWIndia
— Adv Nitin Satpute ایڈوکیٹ نتن ستپوتے નિતિન સાતપુતે (@Nitin_Satpute) September 22, 2020
In an interview with ANI, Ghosh talked about her meeting with Kashyap and said,
Five years ago, I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house. When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me. He forced himself on me.
Adding further she said,
I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. I am seeking action against him.
Talking about the filmmaker getting support from actors, she said,
There are many people who have supported Anurag Kashyap because of their bread and butter and their family run because of him so they will definitely talk in support of him.
Kashyap in his response denied the allegations, claiming that they were ‘baseless’. He said:
I neither behave like this nor do I ever tolerate this at any price.
Anurag’s lawyer Priyanka Khimani also issued an official statement about the allegations. Sharing it on social media, the statement claimed that the allegations are false, dishonest and malicious and the filmmaker is pained by them. It further states that a social movement like #MeToo has been used as a tool for character assassination now.
Now, a day after actress Payal Ghosh accused Kashyap of sexual assault, another woman named Rupa Dutta called out the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ director in her social media post. Dutta shared screenshots of a chat with a user named Anurag Safar – who can be seen expressing his attraction towards married women.
The chats are dated to 2014, with Dutta claiming that Kashyap used to have an account of the same name.
In the post written in Hindi, Dutta asserts that she stopped talking to Kashyap for his distasteful behaviour and not respecting women.
She also sided with Ghosh and asserted that he should be punished harshly for the same as well as taking drugs and supplying it to other artists.
अनुराग कश्यप के नज़रों में किसी भी औरत का कोई इज्ज़त नहीं है।जो मुझे उसे जानने के बाद पता चला।इसीलिए पायेल घोष का इल्ज़ाम बिलकुल सही है।अनुराग कश्यप को कठोर से कठोर सज़ा मिलनी चाहिए।और यह ड्रग भी लेता है।अपने आर्टिस्ट को भी सप्लाई करता है
NCB जांच करे कृपा।#arrestanuragkashyab pic.twitter.com/ckK5ZfUDOW— Rupa Dutta (@iamrupadutta) September 19, 2020
Our Take:
- #MeToo allegations on Kashyap opens up a fresh debate on naming shaming men after several years of alleged incident
- While powerful men do have recourse to the law, common men are most often stripped of their jobs, career and dignity until proven innocent
- Most of the bollywood feminists have come out in full support of Kashyap, however, these are the same people who ran campaigns stating #BelieveAllWomen
- Timing of the allegations will be questioned in every such case, since the allegations and counter allegations will be reduced to your word Vs mine
- Supreme court must come up with certain guidelines whether #MeToo after years is legally valid or women must be asked to take proper legal actions within a certain timeframe
- The judicial proceedings in this case could become a benchmark for all delayed #MeToo cases in the future
ALSO READ –
http://voiceformenindia.com/in-the-social/anurag-kashyap-charged-with-metoo/
http://voiceformenindia.com/in-the-social/ali-zafars-metoo-accuser-apologises/
http://voiceformenindia.com/in-the-social/twitter-feminists-silent-sanjay-rauts-haramkhor-kangana/
We are now on Telegram. You can also join us on our Facebook Group
Join our Facebook Group or follow us on social media by clicking on the icons below
If you find value in our work, you may choose to donate to Voice For Men Foundation via Milaap OR via UPI: voiceformenindia@hdfcbank (80G tax exemption applicable)