Mumbai: Actress Payal Ghosh submitted a written complaint to the Oshiwara police late on Monday accusing Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap of sexual misconduct. She alleged that Kashyap had misbehaved with her at the end of 2014. Anurag Kashyap, through his lawyer, denied the allegations.

Oshiwara police senior inspector Dayanand Bangar said the actress and her lawyer came to the police station at around 11.30pm. “They have been asked to submit the written application regarding the matter. We will decide on further course of action based on the allegations mentioned in the application as the subject matter occurred six years ago,” Bangar said.

Payal’s lawyer Nitin Satpute said they were at the police station to lodge the complaint. Payal had tweeted about the assault on Saturday and had tagged the office of the Prime Minister asking action be taken against the director. She also mentioned she was aware her raising the matter could cause her harm.

Meanwhile, asked why she had decided to speak up now, Ghosh in an interview with a news channel said, “I tried to say it before also, when the #MeToo movement had started, but my family and friends stopped me. You can’t talk, your career will be spoiled,’ they told me. I posted about this also, tagging Anurag, but deleted it.”

In the interview, Payal said she doesn’t have any proof as the incident happened at the end of 2014. Anurag was shooting for the film ‘Bombay Velvet’ when the alleged assault took place. She alleged she met him twice and at the second meeting, Anurag tried to force himself on her. Kashyap tweeted a press release prepared by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani. It said, “My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently surfaced against him. These allegations are completely false, malicious and dishonest. It is sad that a social movement as important as the #metoo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination. Fictitious allegations of this nature seriously undermine the movement and seek to unconscionably trade upon the pain and trauma of actual victims of sexual harassment and abuse. My client has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent.” 

Ashok and Nivedita Saraf express gratitude to frontliners of Coronavirus fight at Oshiwara police station with a hearty meal
Vinay Dalvi (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 20, 2020)

While the country, and the city in particular, is grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic, Bollywood has been supporting its frontline workers, including the Mumbai Police. Akshay Kumar has donated Rs 2 crore to the Mumbai Police Foundation and is donating 1000 wrist bands to help in the early detection of Covid-19. Hrithik Roshan has delivered a package of hand sanitisers to police personnel on duty while Farhan Akhtar has contributed 1000 PPE kits. Rohit Shetty has arranged for space in eight hotels across the city for on-duty policemen to rest and have meals, while the Producers Guild of India has donated fully-equipped tents and vanity vans of Bollywood stars to the force, particularly female cops, across 22 key locations in Mumbai, in an initiative called Mission Suraksha.

On Tuesday, in a heart-warming gesture, actor Ashok Saraf and his wife Nivedita sent 175-180 plates of puri and aamras for policemen on duty at Oshiwara police station, informed senior police inspector Dayanand Bangar. The actor, who stays in the nearby Lokhandwala Complex, which is in the jurisdiction of Oshiwara police station, told Mirror, “We’ve always respected policemen but now it has doubled after seeing them work in such tough conditions. Now that mango season is here, we decided to give them a meal of aamras and puri with the help of a local caterer.”

Some constables admitted that this year, due to the lockdown, they have not been able to enjoy mangoes and described the meal as “tasty”.

The 33-year-old woman has accused him of depriving her of work and forcing her to watch adult videos
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; February 2, 2020)

Five days after a 33-year-old assistant choreographer filed a non-cognisable offence against Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya, who is also the general secretary of the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association (IFTCA), for allegedly expelling her membership, depriving her of work, demanding commission and forcing her to watch adult videos, Acharya has now filed a counter NC against her. The lady also approached the National Commission for Women a few days ago against Ganesh.

THE ALLEGATIONS LEVELLED BY HER
Talking about the issue, she said, “I started working as a coordinator for dancers in November 2019. However, because of certain issues in the past, Ganesh Acharya, who is the general secretary of IFTCA, used his position to expel me from the association and also directed other members to stop working with me, because I refused to give him commission. I am sitting at home unemployed since two months. That’s when I approached Saroj ji (Khan), who assured me that they would look into the matter at the Special General Meeting (SGM), which was held on Sunday. While I was sitting in the corridor waiting to present my side of the story, Ganesh came out and started screaming. He said, ‘Yeh kya kar rahi hai yahaan par? Isko thappad aur laat maar kar baahar nikaalo’. Two women assaulted me on his instructions.”

She added, “In my complaint to NCW, I have also stated that Ganesh, who would often be found watching adult videos every time I visited his office, forced me to watch them, too. I reprimanded him and told him that if he ever repeated it or called me, I would file a complaint against him with the association and the police.”

GANESH ACHARYA REFUTES HER CLAIMS
BT spoke to Ganesh Acharya, who said, “She was part of a group of dancers I worked with in 2007. Apart from that, I don’t know this girl at all. The accusations of assault in my presence and on my instructions are false, as I had left for a shoot before the altercation between her and the two others took place.”

Regarding the accusations of expelling her because she didn’t agree to pay him a commission and forcing her to watch adult videos, he said, “The decision to expel a member is taken after everyone’s consent, and she was expelled owing to her crude and unflattering remarks on dance masters. I am against the practice of commission and don’t work with coordinators, so why will I demand commission from her? Disgruntled by the termination of her membership, she sent letters and notices to IFTCA and its members making false and frivolous allegations of not letting her work and harassing her. However, in these alleged complaints, there was no mention of her latest cooked-up story of porn videos being shown to her. Her accusations are false and baseless.”

Ganesh’s lawyer, Ravi Suryawanshi said, “We have given a written complaint to the Oshiwara Police on January 31 against her for defamation and filed an NC for the same. We have also lodged a complaint at Amboli police station against her for filing a false complaint. Ganesh Acharya will soon be initiating legal proceedings against her and her accomplices.”

Dutta files protest petition against clean chit given to Nana Patekar; says witnesses were not examined, electronic evidence ‘botched up’
Sharmeen Hakim (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 6, 2019)

Rebutting the clean chit given by the Oshiwara police to actor Nana Patekar and three others in the sexual harassment case against them, actor Tanushree Dutta has accused the police of carrying out a “farcical show of investigation” and sought transfer of probe as well as action against the police officers concerned.

In her 40-page protest petition filed in the Andheri metropolitan magistrate court, Dutta has given a breakdown of how crucial witnesses supporting her case were allegedly not examined and electronic evidence was botched up. She has alleged that unlike victims of sexual harassment she was never called to record her statement before a court. She has further claimed that most of the 13 witnesses ‘picked by the police’ were either connected to the accused or working with them.

A magistrate will now decide whether to accept the police’s clean chit given to the accused in June, reject the report or order further investigation. In the June summary report, the police had called Tanushree’s claims ‘false’.

Last year, Dutta had accused Nana Patekar of molesting her during the shoot of a film song in 2008. She had also accused director Rakesh Sarang, producer Samee Siddiqui and choreographer Ganesh Acharya of cover-up. Dutta spoke out after Siddiqui made derogatory remarks against her, saying she was “on her period” to have staged a walkout from the film set so many years ago.

In her petition filed through advocate Nitin Satpute, Dutta has alleged that despite being a complainant in the case she was never informed by the police about the ‘B’ Summary (clean-chit) report. She also said she was for forced to pay for a copy of the report.

Dutta has said that reporter Janice Sequeira interviewed her soon after the incident but Sequera’s statement was ignored by the police. She said that the assistant director of the film was also an eyewitness, and while her statement was partially recorded she was never called to the police station to complete its recording. She has also alleged that another journalist, who was present at the film shoot, was not examined. As per the petition, the police did not even bother to record the statement of the person who had conducted the sting on producer Samee Siddiqui – he had allegedly said “ho gaya hoga aisa touch” about Patekar.

Dutta said two other eyewitnesses, a hair dresser and spot boy, were never called to the police station for recording of statement. She has also claimed that the police recorded the statements of unrelated people – Sudhir Pande, Ramesh Torani and Ratan Jain who were working for CINTAA at the time – and were not present during the incident.

She said that the statements that accompany seizure of the CD against Siddiqui’s “sting” have vital parts missing. She said a 65(B) – a document certifying the authenticity of any content on an electronic device – has deliberately not been taken by the police.

Dutta said Nilesh Pawaskar, the lawyer who had advised her at the time, failed to disclose to her that he had represented Nana Patekar at some time and asked her only to take up the payment issue with the producers despite knowing all that had transpired. Pawaskar told Mirror that the allegations are false and the fact that he represented Patekar was public knowledge. “She should have been better advised by her lawyer.” Pawaskar said.

Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 31, 2019)

Veteran art director R Verman, who had been ailing for a while and was recently admitted to a suburban hospital, succumbed to cardiac arrest on Tuesday around 12.30 am. He was 72.

His son, director Abhishek Varman (2 States, Kalank) performed the last rites at the Oshiwara crematorium. Later, filmmaker Karan Johar, actors Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, and directors Shashank Khaitan and Anurag Singh met him to offer condolences.

Best known as R Verman, Ratna Verman Shetty was an alumnus of Mumbai’s JJ School of Art. Post completing his education, he started his own publicity designing and cine advertising company. The late Dev Anand’s production house was one of his major clients and Verman worked on his cult classics like Jewel Thief and Guide (above).

It was during this time that art direction piqued his interest and he began assisting noted art director Sudhendu Roy. He went independent in 1975 and worked on over 350 films, including Betaab, Khoon Bhari Maang, Thaanedaar, Hum, Khiladi, Andaaz Apna Apna, Karan-Arjun, Kaho Naa.. Pyaar Hai, Company, Aitraaz and 36 China Town.

Up To Court Now To Decide On Closure
V Narayan (THE TIMES OF INDIA; June 14, 2019)

Mumbai: The Oshiwara police have filed a report before an Andheri magistrate court stating that the case of sexual harassment filed by Tanushree Dutta against coactor Nana Patekar was “false”. As there was no evidence to prosecute Patekar, the police said while attaching their B Summary or case closure report, they were closing the case. It is now for the court to decide if the case stands closed or is to be carried forward.

The police report added Tanushree had filed the case “because of a misunderstanding and without malicious intent”. The case, lodged on October 6 last year, had marked the launch of the #MeToo movement in India.

Police said the actress had, after first filing a complaint with CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes Association) in March 2008, “settled the matter” the same month after a meeting with the production house for the film Horn OK Pleassss. At the meeting, which took place in front of officials of CINTAA and IFTPC (Indian Film and TV Production Council), the cops said, it was agreed the producers would pay Tanushree “Rs 5 lakh + 10% service tax, and the matter would not be stretched any further.”
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BOMBAY TIMES (June 14, 2019)

According to reports, Nana Patekar has been given a clean chit by the police in the sexual harassment case filed by Tanushree Dutta, last year. The case was closed on the grounds that there was no prima facie evidence against the actor. About a month ago, reports had surfaced that Patekar’s name had been cleared in this case, however, Tanushree told BT that the investigation was still on, and such stories were only an attempt to help the actor’s career. In the complaint filed with the police, she had accused Patekar of misbehaving with her during the shoot of a song for the film Horn Ok Pleassss (2008). She had also accused Ganesh Acharya (who was choreographing the song), stating that he had stepped aside ‘obediently’ when Nana behaved inappropriately with her. When BT reached out to Acharya, about the latest development, he said, “I have also been given a clean chit. I haven’t spoken to Nana Patekar yet, but I am very relieved. We have to trust our judiciary and our cops to do their best. After so many months of working on the matter, the cops have given Nana and me a clean chit. Sacchai ki jeet hui. It’s good that this case has found closure. I am yet to discuss our next step with my team.”
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THE TIMES OF INDIA (May 7, 2019)

Mumbai: TV actor Karan Oberoi was arrested on Sunday after his former girlfriend pressed charges of rape against him. Officials of the Oshiwara police station said that the 33-year-old woman and the 44-year-old actor have known each other since 2016. The woman has alleged that the actor filmed her in objectionable positions after sedating her.

Oberoi was produced in the Andheri magistrate’s court on Monday. The court sent him to police custody till May 9.

Oberoi, a resident of Andheri (west), had met the woman, an astrologer, through a dating app three years ago. The two met several times over the next few months and grew friendly.

According to the woman’s complaint, Oberoi called her to his residence on one occasion. He offered her a beverage which was allegedly spiked. After the woman felt dizzy, she was allegedly raped. She also accused Oberoi of filming the act.

“The woman has complained that between 2016 and 2018, Oberoi blackmailed her using the video. He demanded money from her and threatened to leak the video if she refused,” said Shailesh Pasalwad, senior inspector, Oshiwara police station.

The police said that the woman had submitted chat messages exchanged between her and Oberoi besides evidence to indicate that he took money from her. “After the victim approached us on Saturday, we registered an FIR against Oberoi,” Pasalwad added.

Oberoi was a member of India’s first Hindi boy band called ‘Band of Boys’ and also starred in the TV show ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi’.
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Karan Oberoi and the fashion designer-and-healer, who has accused him of rape, had spoken to BT in October 2018, when they first approached the police. Both of them contradicted each other's stories at that time. Read on...
Neha Maheshwari and Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; May 7, 2019)

Karan Oberoi, who has acted in TV shows like Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, Saaya, Dishayen and was a part of the music group A Band of Boys, has been arrested by Mumbai police on charges of rape by a fashion designer-and-healer. The Oshiwara police lodged an FIR against Karan under Section 376 (rape) and 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code. Shailesh Pasalwad, Senior Police Inspector, Oshiwara Police Station, told BT, “Karan has been charged with rape. He has also been accused of filming the act and demanding money from the victim, and threatening to release the video if she didn’t pay up.” On the morning of May 6, the actor was produced in the Andheri Court and he has been taken into police custody till May 9.

FLASHBACK
A non-cognisable complaint (NC) was lodged by the woman against Karan in October 2018, where she accused him of using her financially. Incidentally, Karan, too, had filed an NC against her for mental harassment 10 days before that. At that point, the girl had reached out to Bombay Times and lashed out at Karan, revealing details about their association. When BT contacted Karan, he presented his version of the story. Both their versions clearly contradicted the other. Soon after that, the girl did not want to go public with the story. Given that he has now been accused of rape and extortion, we are producing excerpts from the conversation that we had with both of them...

 WHAT THE GIRL TOLD BT IN OCTOBER 2018
“Karan and I got in touch on a dating app. Initially, he asked me to share basic pictures, followed by nudes, with him guiding me on how they should be taken. We met in October 2016, and got intimate for the first time. We met again four days later and when I told him that I am into healing, he requested me to help him in his career. I started helping him and that’s how I began spending money on him. I replaced his fake gemstones with expensive ones, which cost me around Rs 90,000. He said that he would pay me later, but never did. In May 2017, he told me that his house had been mortgaged and he didn’t want to lose it. I gave him over a lakh for several months to help him save his house. I would give him money otherwise, too, for his expenses. Just doing up his house cost me around Rs 4 lakh and I also bought him a karaoke console, refrigerator, laptop and a mobile phone. He would ask me to get expensive things for him whenever I travelled abroad for my work. The demands were covert — he would tell me that he has been planning to buy a particular item since long, but hasn’t been able to because of money constraints, knowing that I would buy it for him. We were like a couple. However, he never committed and told me that he didn’t want to be in that space as he had been cheated on in his previous relationships. We would often fight over it, but I would keep returning to him after swearing to end the relationship. I felt bad for pressurising him to commit to me while he was going through the stress of losing his house and facing a financial crunch. He also said that had he been better off financially, he would never have let me go. Besides the fact that he never committed to me, the last nail in the coffin was when someone close to him told me that he was just using me. That’s when I asked Karan to return everything I gave him, but he flatly refused. Right now, my biggest concern are the suggestive pictures and videos that we exchanged. In fact, he wanted to shoot us while having sex, but I declined. I am not sure whether he has deleted them or not, though he tells me he has. But for my sanity, I need to be certain that the pictures have been deleted.”

WHAT KARAN OBEROI TOLD BT IN OCTOBER 2018
“I may have flirted with her initially, but then, I am a single guy. There was absolutely no relationship, intimacy or sex between us. I have blocked her from everywhere, as I figured her out almost immediately. She said that her father used to hit her and that no man has ever loved her. I just lent her a sympathetic ear because of what she had claimed to have been through. She told me that she is into occult and wanted to come out of it and pursue an alternative profession. She then suggested that she could do up my house and I decided to help her by allowing her to do that. That was the biggest mistake of my life. I have two houses in Mumbai and neither of them has been mortgaged. I gave her cash to buy items for my home, as she offered me a better deal. Every piece of furniture and other things that she is claiming to have bought for me, including my clothes, have been paid for by me. After getting fed up of her intrusion, around six months ago, I gave standing instructions to the guard of my building that this woman should not be allowed to come up to my flat. She cut her wrist once and threatened me that she would have me booked for abetment of suicide. I figured out that something was amiss and that’s when I decided to distance myself from her. While she is claiming to be in a relationship even now, I distanced myself in August 2016. If you think just because I send you hugs and love you are in a relationship with me, you must be really twisted, because then I’d be in a relationship with 50,000 women. I have never robbed a woman of her dignity, but this is not normal. I am the victim here. I have lived a nightmare for these two years. The only reason I would answer her calls once in a while was to protect my family, as I feared that she could harm them with black magic. My worry was my mother and my health woes, as she claimed that she had the power to do anything. I have been through hell just because I declined her requests of getting into a relationship with her or have any kind of intimacy with her. She filed an NC against me after she learnt about my complaint. In fact, on the day of filing the NC, she called me and said that she was at the cop station and told me that she would ruin my life if I didn’t marry her the next day. I have blocked several numbers from which she called me. If you are willing to stoop to any level to get your way, where does it end?”

Asif Rizvi (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 31, 2019)

Alok Nath's counsel Ashok Saraogi told mid-day that the actor had gone out of town for some important work
Diwakar Sharma (MID-DAY; December 5, 2018)

Actor Alok Nath, who has been booked for raping screenwriter and director Vinta Nanda almost two decades ago, is 'untraceable', said a source at Oshiwara police station. There was no one at his house to accept the summons letter issued to him last week, the cops have said.

"His [Nath's] version is equally important in the case. Last week, we had issued summons to him so that the next level of investigation in the Vinta Nanda case can be initiated but he was not at home. We don't know where he is!" the source said.

Nath's counsel Ashok Saraogi told mid-day that Nath had gone out of town for some important work. "The summons was issued but was not served as Nath is not in Mumbai. He will return to the city this week and will definitely visit Oshiwara police station. He is in touch with me," said Saraogi, who added, "I have not read the contents of the summons."

Nanda, in October, had alleged that Nath, with whom she'd worked in the television serial Tara, had raped her. Following this, she had filed a police complaint and on November 21, Nath was booked for rape, but has denied the allegation and filed a case of defamation. Investigators are waiting to conduct medical tests on Nanda as per procedure. The possibility of Nath's arrest is entirely based on Nanda's medical report, her statement made in the FIR and the statement of Nath. "Nanda's allegation needs to be corroborated with the evidence and statement made her," said a senior police officer.

THE TIMES OF INDIA (October 7, 2018)

Mumbai: Actress and model Tanushree Dutta on Saturday filed a written complaint with Oshiwara police against two persons about an incident with her on the sets of a movie in 2008. She alleged actor Nana Patekar and choreographer Ganesh Acharya sexually harassed her on the sets. Dutta tweeted on Saturday: ‘Today filed a complaint in Oshiwara police station, in connection with 2008 movie set incident against Nana Patekar and Ganesh Acharya’.

Senior inspector Shailesh Pasalwar said they had received the complaint on Saturday. “No FIR has been registered yet. An inquiry will be done before deciding further action,” said Pasalwar.

The actress had earlier lodged a complaint with Goregaon police, but she alleged that no action was taken after a crowd surrounded her car, shattered its windshield and trapped her and her parents inside.

Patekar has denied the allegations and issued a legal notice to the actress. On Saturday, he termed her claims to be a lie. “I have already given the answer for this 10 years back. A lie will remain a lie,” he said, adding that he will hold a press conference on Monday.

Delhi-based advocate Gaurav Gulati recently filed a complaint against Patekar and two others with NCW. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri too has slapped Dutta with a legal notice. Meanwhile, the Vidarbha Farm Widows’ Association staged a demonstration at Pandharkavada village, Yavatmal, demanding an end to “the victimisation of our brother Nana Patekar”.