Mumbai: A first information report was filed with the Versova police on Tuesday on the basis of actor Payal Ghosh’s complaint accusing film director Anurag Kashyap of sexual misconduct in 2014.

A police officer said they would probe the matter as the complaint was linked to an incident dating six years back, before deciding further course of action. Several celebrities, including three actors named by Ghosh in her allegations as Kashyap’s victims, have refuted her claims.

Ghosh and her lawyer tried to file an FIR at Oshiwara police station on Monday but were asked to come back with a written complaint. Payal’s lawyer Nitin Satpute said, “An FIR has been lodged for rape, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement and outraging the modesty of a woman. The statement of the victim has been recorded.” He said they were told to file it at Versova police station as the incident had occurred under its jurisdiction.

Payal first tweeted about the alleged assault on September 19, tagging the office of the Prime Minister seeking action. When asked why she decided to speak up now after so many years, she told a news channel, “I tried to say it before also when the #MeToo movement had started, but my family and friends stopped me... your career will be spoiled,’ they told me.” She also said she did not have proof.

In reaction to the allegations, Kashyap has tweeted a statement by his lawyer: “My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations… these... are completely false, malicious and dishonest.”

Three actors — Richa Chadha, Mahie Gill and Huma Qureshi — who, Payal claimed, were mentioned by Kashyap as having been exploited by him have refuted the allegations. One of them has even sent her a legal notice for defamation.

On Monday Richa Chadha tweeted: “I have sent a legal notice to Payal Ghosh for ‘falsely (dragging)’ my name into her allegations...” Richa on Tuesday tweeted: “Am sending a registered post also so there are no excuses.” Richa’s lawyer Saveena Bedi Sachar issued a statement, “Our client… condemns the act of her name being unnecessarily and falsely dragged in a defamatory manner into controversies and allegation being recently raised by third parties.”

Huma Qureshi tweeted on Tuesday, “Anurag and I last worked together in 2012-13 and he is a dear friend and an extremely talented director. In my personal experience and to my knowledge he has neither misbehaved with me or anyone else. However, anyone who claims to be abused must report it to the authorities, the police and the judiciary... I feel angry not just for myself but also every woman whose years of hard work... gets reduced to such baseless conjecture and allegations in their workplace.”

Reacting to it, Mahie Gill had said, “It is very easy to take names just because he launched us. All I want to say is that I have known Anurag for a long time now. We may not be in touch but I am sure Anurag can never speak like this about any of his actors.”