Actor Nana Patekar, who had a molestation case filed against him by actress Tanushree Dutta, has been given a clean chit by the police. The Mumbai police have informed a local court that due to lack of evidence against the actor, a ‘B Summary’ has been filed. A ‘B-Summary’ report is filed by the police when they do not find any evidence against the accused person to file a charge sheet in order to seek trial.
In October 2018, Tanushree Dutta became the flagbearer of the #MeToo movement in India by filing a report against actor Nana Patekar, when she accused him of sexual harassment on the set of a song in the film, Horn Ok Pleassss. “A couple of times, I pushed his hands away when he got too close. But it didn’t seem to make a difference. He continued to direct my steps roughly and aggressively. Things got really out of hand when Ganesh incorporated steps where Nana could get physically close to me,” she said.
Source: Instagram
The actress, in a conversation with a newspaper, said that Nana Patekar behaved inappropriately on the set and tried to introduce intimate dance steps with the actress, back when the song was being shot in 2008. The actress also said that he a reputation of behaving this way with women, “Everyone knows about Nana Patekar that he has always been disrespectful towards women. People in the industry know about his background… that he has beaten actresses, he has molested them, his behaviour with women has always been crude but no publication has printed anything about it.”
Source: Instagram
After the incident in 2008, the actress walked away from the shoot with her mother and later claimed that Nana Padekar orchestrated an attack on her car when she left the set. This is the first #MeToo case that has reportedly collapsed.
The testimonies of those who spoke up against the actor haven’t been taken into account. Tanushree released a statement after the verdict, saying, “A corrupt police force and legal system giving a clean chit to an even more corrupt person (Nana) who has been accused even in the past of bullying, intimidation and harassment by several women in the film industry.”
The actress also stated that witnesses had been silenced and intimidated by those involved, “Our witnesses have been silenced by intimidation and fake witnesses have been put forth to weaken the case. What was the rush to file a ‘B’ summary report when all of my witnesses have not even recorded their statements yet? I’m neither shocked nor surprised being a woman in India this is something we all have got used to.”
Tanushree implied that Nana Patekar bought himself the clean chit and he will continue to bully women, “I mean, if rape-accused Alok Nath got a clean chit and returned to movies then surely it was not going to be difficult for harassment-accused Nana Patekar to get himself or shall we say buy himself a clean chit to continue to bully hapless young women.
She also stated that when it comes to proof, the video of her car being publicly broken was also available, “But the proof is often in the pudding and a gentle reminder to the Indian public to watch the video of my car being mercilessly attacked and broken while me and my family tried to escape from these monsters on Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss set 10 years ago. After this, if you still decide to watch their movies and support, then it’s your bad karma.”
The actress shared how she has been living under this trauma for over 10 years and prays she never has to deal with this toxicity again in her life, “I’m tired of fighting alone against oppressors, bullies and a corrupt system. I have better things to do in life with my talent and skill set and I need to focus on those but please don’t take this example to mean that you will not be heard when u speak up!! Continue to expose these creeps through social media and other platforms so that in future people would think twice before troubling an innocent young girl. I still believe btw that I will get justice and victory will be mine!! How…only time will tell (sic).”
Tanushree Dutta’s brave story paved the way for women to speak up against Bollywood biggies like Sajid Khan, Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai and Vikas Bahl. And in return, Tanushree was sent a legal notice by Nana Patekar’s lawyer, demanding an apology. While her truth spread like wildfire, it still wasn’t enough to get the actress the justice she deserves.
Featured Image: Instagram, India Today
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