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Police closure report accuses Tanushree Dutta of ‘intentionally filing false case’

In his statement to police, Patekar claimed that he did not know how to dance and that it had taken him 25 to 30 attempts to get a hold of his steps. Patekar also said he and Dutta did not dance together and added that there was some space between them when the song was being shot.

By: Express News Service
Mumbai | June 15, 2019 01:27 AM IST

3 min read

Harassment case: ‘Clean chit to Nana Patekar a rumour’, says Tanushree Dutta

Tanushree Dutta had come out against Nana Patekar with sexual harassment charges in October last year, thus fuelling the #MeToo movement in Bollywood. (File photo)

A closure report filed by the Mumbai Police into allegations of molestation against actor Nana Patekar has accused actress Tanushree Dutta of filing a “false case” after the film producer asked her to pay compensation for walking out of the film and cancelling the day’s shoot.

Dutta was to shoot an item number in the film Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss in March 2008. In an FIR, registered at Oshiwara police station last October, Dutta had claimed that the song was originally supposed to feature only her, but Patekar had inserted himself into it after speaking to producer Samee Siddiqui, director Rakesh Sarang and choreographer Ganesh Acharya. She alleged that on March 26, 2008, Patekar touched her inappropriately on the pretext of teaching her steps.

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During the investigation, police claimed to have found no proof to support Dutta’s claims. Among the 13 witnesses, whose statements were recorded, was one Sanjeev Hawaladar, who had rehearsed Patekar’s steps with Dutta at a dance studio in Andheri (West) between March 14 and 20, the closure report said. The investigation also concluded that Dutta “intentionally” lodged a false case against the four men when Siddiqui told her that she would have to compensate for the losses caused.

In his statement to police, Patekar claimed that he did not know how to dance and that it had taken him 25 to 30 attempts to get a hold of his steps. Patekar also said he and Dutta did not dance together and added that there was some space between them when the song was being shot. Neither Daisy Shah, assistant choreographer for the song, nor any of the junior artistes, back-up dancers or camera crew told police, in their statements, that they had seen Patekar touch Dutta inappropriately.

The police report states that Dutta only discussed concerns of monetary loss caused to her as a result of walking out of the film. The police also found that a complaint given by her father, Tapankumar Dutta, to Goregaon police station contained no mention of alleged sexual harassment by Patekar. “Her father’s complaint mentions that Dutta did not like a scene in the film and asked Acharya to change it. When he refused, she left the set along with her parents and manager, but their car was attacked by MNS party workers and supporters of Patekar at the exit. Nowhere does the FIR, registered at Goregaon police station, mention that Patekar molested Dutta,” states the closure report.