Tanushree Dutta case: FIR filed against Nana Patekar, Ganesh Acharya, Samee Siddiqui, Rakesh Sarang

The stage is set for a legal battle between Tanushree Dutta and Nana Patekar. The actress had filed a fresh complaint against the actor for alleged sexual harassment and assault on the sets of Horn OK Pleassss in 2008.

The film's director Rakesh Sarang, choreographer Ganesh Acharya and producer Samee Siddiqui have also been accused of abetting the crime.

Acting on her complaint, the Oshiwara Police station has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the four accused.

Confirming the same, a police official said, “An FIR has been filed against Nana Patekar, Samee Siddiqui, Rakesh Sarang under sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.”

Section 354 refers to assault or criminal force used upon a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, while section 509 refers to word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

Speaking to Cinestaan.com, Dutta’s lawyer Nitin Satpute said, “The Oshiwara police has filed an FIR under sections 354 and 509 of Indian Penal Code against the four accused. Once the police investigation is complete, the case will be heard in Andheri court. The accused can apply for anticipatory bail.”

There were rumors of Dutta filing a PIL with the Bombay high court seeking action against the police officers who failed to act on the complaint she filed in 2008. However, Satpute denied this.

“Tanushree hasn’t filed any PIL in the court. We haven't filed a separate complaint against those officers, we’ve only mentioned in our complaint now. They are guilty of gross negligence. We are deciding about it [filing a separate complaint against those officers]. They are also answerable to society. Right now, we are only concentrating on this [FIR against Patekar, Acharya, Sarang and Siddiqui]. We are happy with the way police are co-operating,” Satpute said.

In her complaint, Dutta has alleged that at the insistence of Patekar, Sarang and Acharya had included him in a song that was initially supposed to feature only Dutta. The actress claimed that the Siddiqui, Sarang, and Acharya supported Patekar when he called in goons from a political party to assualt her.  

As Dutta tried to leave the film's sets with her parents, he car was attacked by the goons. In a video of the incident, a video journalist can also be seen damaging Dutta’s car. He later claimed that Dutta's father had allegedly broken his camera.  

Recently, in a sting operation conducted by Mirror Now, a news channel, producer Siddiqui shocked all by saying that Dutta might have been menstruating on the day of the incident. "Should I tell you the truth? I feel that day she was on her periods. Okay? So you get irritated. Small touch or maybe something else,” he said.