Asks cops to subject actor, 3 other accused to narco test to bring out truth
A week after she lodged a complaint with the Oshiwara police against actor Nana Patekar and three others for alleged sexual harassment, Bollywood actress Tanushree on Saturday upped the ante by demanding that Patekar and three other accused be arrested and subjected to narco analysis, brain mapping and lie detector to bring out truth in the case.
In a development that came two days after the Oshiwara police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Patekar and three others, Tanushree’s lawyer Nitin S Satpute made an application to the investigating officer and rooted for the arrest of the senior actor and three other accused choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui and director Rakesh Sarang.
Maintaining that Patekar and other accused in the case were “highly influential and high-profile persons with “good political connections”, Sapute said that there was every possibility about their putting “undue pressure, fear, coercion and influence” on the witnesses in the case.
“There are witnesses and eye witnesses to the incident that took place on March 26, 2008, who are willing to come forward to record their statement, but they are not coming forward as they are scared of accused persons. They will not come forward to record to statement unless and until accused are arrested. It is only after the arrest of the accused that they (witnesses) will come to police station,” Satpute said.
Sapute went on state that Patekar and other accused were denying the charges against them before the media “They may put pressure on the witnesses, or accused may produce bogus witness to record negative statement against the complainant. Therefore, fair investigation has to be carried out by conducting Narco Analysis, Brain Mapping and Lie Detector Test of the Accused and witnesses who are supporting accused,” Tanushree’s lawyer said.
Satpute said that so as to do justice to his client, “it has now become necessary to arrest accused and conduct narco Analysis, brain mapping and lie detector test to ascertain their role in the offence”.
It may be recalled that on October 6, Tanushree had lodged a written complaint against Patekar and three others under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (Assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe her) and section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty o a woman) of Indian Penal Code.
Subsequently on the night of October 10, Tanushree personally visited the Oshiwara police station and recorded her statement in continuation of a written complaint.
After she recorded her statement, the Oshiwara police formally registered an FIR against Patekar and three others under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty and Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of Indian Penal Code.
On behalf of Tanushree, her lawyer also submitted a 40-page statement on the incident to the police and also the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission (MSWC). In her complaint lodged with the police on October 6, Tanushree has alleged that the incident took place on March 26, 2008 during the shooting of a song in the film “Horn Ok Pleaseee”.
The entire song was to be filmed on the actress, while Patekar had only line in the song. She said that before the shoot, she had made it clear to the producer and director that she would not enact or perform any lewd, vulgar or uncomfortable steps in the particular song.
“On the 4th day of the shoot, 26th March 2008, while shooting was going on, Nana Patekar’s behaviour was inappropriate towards me. He was on the set despite his work in the song being over and he was grabbing me by the arms and pushing me around on the pretext of teaching me how to dance. When he was teaching indecently and unnecessarily, then I felt very uncomfortable because of his behaviour and I felt he has outraged my modesty,” Tanushree alleged.
“He (Patekar) told the choreographer and other junior artists to back away so that he could teach me the dance steps through he was not a choreographer and he was not required during the choreography as per my previous rehearsals,” the actress added.
“After the incident, I was under tremendous shock, I suffered psychological trauma, was unable to take up work, suffered huge monetary losses in crores and therefore I decided to take action through film industry by lodging a written complaint with the Cine and TV Artistes Association. The Association decided the matter and passed the order without considering my complaint for ap0logy,” Tanushree stated in her police complaint.
In her complaint, Tanushreee had also named choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui, director Rakesh Sarang and some MNS workers who allegedly damaged her car and pulled her out of her car, as co-accused.