The Versova Police on Monday arrested National Award winning filmmaker Subhash Kapoor who is accused of molestation by actress Geetika Tyagi. According to the police, a constable was posted outside the residence of the filmmaker, who was supposedly out of town, and Kapoor was to be arrested upon return.

But Kapoor got wind of this and directly came to the police station on Monday morning accompanied by his lawyer. He was immediately arrested and produced in the Andheri court.

"We asked for police custody, but the court sent him to a 14-day judicial custody," an officer from Versova police station told Mirror on the condition of anonymity.

The director's lawyer then applied for bail which the court granted him, for a surety of Rs.10,000. Confirming the same, ACP Milind Bharambe told Mirror, "Subhash Kapoor was arrested yesterday and the court has granted him bail." When asked why the cops didn't push for his custody, Bharambe said, "It was the court's decision."

The National Commission of Women had written to Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Maria, asking him to explain why 3 of the 4 charges (304, 304A, 304B, 501) against the director were dropped and only the bailable section, 304, was retained.

Mirror was the first to report (February 19) the controversy which started when Geetika who has acted in films such as Aatma and One By Two, posted a link to a video which featured Kapoor, his wife, Aurangzeb director Atul Sabharwal, and her in the midst of a confrontation, apparently about Kapoor having sexually abused Geetika. Kapoor purportedly says in the video that he is ashamed of what happened between the two, and is ready to face the consequences. His wife adds that their life is ruined because of the said event and her priority now is to safeguard her son. The video ends with Tyagi slapping Kapoor, as Kapoor's wife sits by the table.

In her first interview to this newspaper (February 21) after the video was posted, Geetika asserted, "It is gratifying to shame the perpetrator." And added that Kapoor had called her a 100 times pleading with her not to go to the cops.

Commenting on Kapoor's arrest, Geetika said on Monday, "I'm relieved that he's been finally arrested. But had I known about the arrest, my lawyer would have opposed his bail application. But I'm sure he will be convicted after the trial." 
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Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; June 24, 2014)

Subhash Kapoor, who allegedly molested aspiring actress Geetika Tyagi, was arrested and produced in the Andheri Magistrate Metropolitan Court on Monday morning and released on bail on the same day.

In April this year, Tyagi had filed a complaint against Kapoor at the Versova police station alleging he had tried to rape her two years ago. The filmmaker was booked under sections 354 (outraging a woman's modesty), 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 B (attempting to disrobe a woman) and 501 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The actress had also uploaded a video that showed her slapping Kapoor. In the video, she is confronting the Jolly LLB director and accusing him of forcing himself on her and dragging her at a party held over a year ago. Geetika could not be reached for a comment, but Kapoor denied the news. “This is not true,” he said.

Meanwhile, ACP Samadhan Dhanedar of the Versova police station confirmed that Kapoor was arrested and let out on bail after paying a sum of Rs 10,000.

— inputs by Shiva Devnath

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; April 23, 2014)

Filmmaker Subhash Kapoor, who is celebrating Jolly LLB’s double win in the recently announced National Film Awards — in the Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Saurabh Shukla) categories — has left behind the Geetika Tyagi molestation controversy.

Early this year, the journalist-turned-actress had accused Subhash of molesting her. She said the incident had taken place at her residence about two years back. Soon after the controversy erupted, there were reports of the director and the actress planning to take legal course. It was even said that Subhash wanted to take legal action against Geetika for character assassination.

But it looks like the filmmaker, who has been keeping a low profile since then, is now keen to bury the past and get busy with work. He said, “As far as the case is concerned, I am not going to pursue it. I am not doing anything about it.” Geetika was not available for comment.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 11, 2014)

Recent reports claimed that director Subhash Kapoor has gone ‘underground’ to avoid media scrutiny after being accused of molestation by actress Geetika Tyagi but Mirror has it that the filmmaker is busy shooting his next film in Shimla.

The production of his next, Guddu Rangeela, starring Arshad Warsi, Amit Sadh and Aditi Rao Hydari is in full swing in the hill station. A source told Mirror, “The mood on the set is quite upbeat and the shoot is progressing well. To avoid any upsetting incidents, Subhash has requested that nobody mention Geetika Tyagi's name or question him about the episode.”

When quizzed about the film’s subject, the source revealed, “It’s a classic satire on rural politics. Amit plays Guddu, a hardcore Haryanvi, while Arshad will be seen as Rangeela. The leading lady, Aditi Rao Hydari, plays a pretty school teacher.”

A major chunk of the film has been completed and the crew will now move to Narkanda, to shoot portions in heavy snow, before shifting base to Chandigarh.

Added the source, “The film’s outdoor shoot will be complete after the Chandigarh schedule. A few days in mid-April will be shot on a set in Mumbai and the film will be wrapped up.”

Ten days after she accused Subhash Kapoor of molestation, actress Geetika Tyagi claims to be still gathering evidence against the director
Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; March 2, 2014)

It’s a status quo in the Subhash Kapoor-Geetika Tyagi molestation case. While the director is still underground, the actress, who is yet to lodge a police complaint, says, “I will give you something concrete soon.” Geetika had recently accused Subhash of molesting her — after a party at her place in the Western suburbs of Mumbai — about two years back. She alleged that Subhash had tried to force himself on her and even tried dragging her into the bedroom. And some time last month, she posted a related video link on a social networking site. In the 30-minute video, Subhash appeared to be apologising to the actress, but denied any molestation. The video also shows Geetika slapping Subhash. 

A few days ago, there seemed to be a slight development in the case when a source mentioned that the actress was ready to settle the issue with the director. However, Geetika denied it vehemently. “Absolutely not. Who are these lame-minded people?” she asked. 

Repeated attempts to contact Subhash remained futile. Industry sources say that he is currently in Punjab, doing a recce for his next film. However, certain sources also say that the director is planning to take legal recourse.
 
TV SHOW AIRS TRACK BASED ON THE CONTROVERSY
Tanvi Trivedi TV shows have always been inspired by ‘real-life’ incidents, the latest being the Geetika Tyagi-Subhash Kapoor controversy. A telly show will air a track where one of the characters auditions for a film and the casting director/producer tries to molest her. According to a source, the production house decided to incorporate this track because they felt it will spread awareness about the issue.

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; February 22, 2014)

While actress Geetika Tyagi has decided to file a police complaint, director Subhash Kapoor, who she has accused of molesting her, has gone underground and cannot be contacted.

However, their common friend Danish Raza, scriptwriter, refutes charges laid by Geetika saying, “Geetika trapped Subhash by using me.” He further explains, “She had initially told me that ‘Subhash had got senti and he tried to come on to me (sic)’. She had further said that they got physical but they didn’t go the whole way and that she told him to stop and he stopped and left.” He further says, “Earlier, she had said that she went into the bedroom but later she changed her version saying Subhash had dragged her in the bedroom,” says Danish.

Says Geetika, “Let Danish say whatever he wants to in front of the police. I have not changed my version, it remains the same and I never spoke to Danish, Subhash has accepted it on camera that he is sorry, I have all the recordings. Both, Danish and his wife insisted I meet Subhash and sort out the matter. They have been discouraging me to go to the cops.”

While Geetika, in her interview says, that Subhash (who was introduced to her by Danish about seven years back), had been messaging her to meet him for some days (around mid-2012), Danish insists that Geetika had been pestering him to call Subhash for a get-together after the release of his second film, Phas Gaye Re Obama. “We would occasionally meet, but after the release of his second film she began pestering me to call Subhash for a gettogether,” says Danish.

Refuting her other allegation that he (Danish) would never go against Subhash as he was making inroads into Bollywood, Danish says, “The incident happened two years back and I was clearly on Subhash’s side. After that Subhash had two projects and I had nothing to do with them. I never worked with him commercially. If I would have had any commercial interest I would have sided with Geetika, who had taken me to Anurag Kashyap with a script, which I wanted to do with her in the lead. She had further put me on to Kumar Mangat and introduced me to many other filmmakers.” He further adds, “Geetika would say, ‘Apne hi log mujhe cast nahi kar rahe hain’. She was referring to Subhash, who had cast her in a film in a small role which never took off.” Geetika refused to reply to any other queries saying that she was issuing a press statement.