Divya
Director Anurag Kashyap has found himself amidst serious allegations by actress Payal Ghosh and now she has filed an FIR with the police who took her statement too.
The 30-year-old actress revealed that she met with Kashyap thrice in 2013 where during the third visit he allegedly tried raping her.
According to a Mid-Day report, the meetings were all a couple of days apart in the month of August in 2013. The first meeting was apparently with Payal’s manager at Anurag’s Andheri (Aram Nagar) office and the next two were at the director’s home at Yari Road. Payal also claimed that she was called into his house alone for the last two meetings and her driver was made to wait in the car outside.
“During the second meeting, I had a discussion with Kashyap for over two hours when he told me about his film career and achievements. I had dinner with him and after the meal he asked me to stay longer but I left saying that the driver would get late.” A few days later Kashyap sent her a text message offering her a role and asked her to meet him at his house. He asked her to wear a salwaar kameez so that no one recognises her.
“Around 7:30 pm I reached Kashyap’s house in my Honda city car. He was sitting inside and smoking. The house smelled really bad and when I asked him, he said he was smoking marijuana. He also offered me a smoke but I refused. He took me to another room to show me his collection of films. While showing me the cassettes of his old films, he suddenly pushed me to the sofa, opened his pants and forced himself on me. I tried to shout a lot but he pressed my mouth and raped me,” she said in the statement.
“As soon as I got a chance, I got out of his place and returned to my house. I immediately did not mention the incident to anyone but after a few days I spoke to my manager and driver. I wanted to file a complaint but a couple of my close friends told me that if I said this to anyone, perhaps I will not be able to work in the film industry, and so it is better to remain silent. The Me Too movement gave me some courage. I shared it with my sister and cousin brother this month and after consulting my kin, we decided to file a complaint,” she continued.
As per what the actress had to say, it was her manager who controlled her social media accounts. Hence it was him who had sent Anurag Kashyap a friend request on Facebook on her behalf in 2013 and had fixed the first meeting with the director. “We have registered a case and booked Anurag Kashyap under relevant sections of the IPC,” said an officer from Versova police station.
The actress lodged an FIR that was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty,), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement), the official said, adding that further investigation is underway. Kashyap will be called for questioning in connection with the alleged incident.
