Actress molestation case: Police didn’t act against Sharad Kapoor despite providing chats and voice recordings, says victim

Cops say the actor is currently absconding. Pic/Instagram

The actress-model, who has lodged a complaint against Bollywood actor Sharad Kapoor at Khar Police Station alleging exploitation, expressed her distrust over the situation. She stated that moving forward, she would refuse to visit anyone's office or home for meetings, insisting instead on holding all meetings in public locations.

Speaking with mid-day, the actress alleged that after filing the FIR, she visited the police station several times to follow up and meet the investigating officer. "When I visited the station yesterday, the police told me that he [Sharad Kapoor] was absconding. I don't understand how the accused managed to escape. I had provided all the evidence, including voice recordings and screenshots of WhatsApp chats, based on which he should have been arrested. But the police have failed to take action. Is there an attempt to shield him?"

Senior Inspector Sanjeev Dhumal of Khar Police Station said, "As per the Supreme Court guidelines, offences carrying a punishment of less than three years do not require immediate arrest. We have summoned the actor for questioning, and if he refuses to cooperate, we will proceed with his arrest."

Bollywood actor Sharad Kapoor has been booked by the Khar police based on a complaint from actress /model accusing him of of inappropriate behaviour and sexual assault.

According to police sources, the alleged incident occurred earlier this week at Kapoor's residence in Khar. The 32-year-old complainant has alleged that Kapoor invited her to his home under the pretext of discussing a film project. Once there, he reportedly asked her to enter his bedroom, behaved inappropriately, and forcibly touched her. The actress managed to escape by hitting the actor with her elbow.
The actress, who runs her own film production company and resides in Goregaon, stated that she came into contact with the actor through Facebook.

Speaking to mid-day she said "I received a message from the actor on my Facebook account. At first, I thought it was a fake account. Later, I received a voice call from him on Messenger. I couldn't believe that such a famous actor would contact me to discuss a film project. To confirm his identity, I asked for a video call. I was shocked to see that it was actually Shard Kapoor." "He asked for my mobile number, which I shared, and then invited me to meet him at his office. He shared the location, but upon reaching, I realised it was his residence. I rang the doorbell and an unknown man, aged around 45 to 50, opened the door. He informed me that Kapoor was in the bedroom. When I went there, I was shocked to see the actor sitting completely naked," the actress said. "I turned my face away and refused to step inside. Kapoor insisted I enter. He then came up behind me, grabbed my arm, and started touching me inappropriately. I immediately hit him with my elbow and ran out of the house," said the actress.

"I was scared and in shock, unable to believe that such a renowned actor could have such a vile mindset and behave this way. I even received a voice message from him containing extremely inappropriate remarks, which I cannot repeat in front of others. I have handed over all the screenshots, messages, and voice recordings of the actor to the police," said the actress.

In the past, I have worked with many people, but this incident was horrifying. Moving forward, if anyone calls me for a meeting, this incident will probably haunt me every time," said the actress.

"If the police don't take even the most serious crimes seriously and fail to act, then who can we trust?" she added.

Despite repeated attempts the actor Sharad Kapoor has neither answered the calls, nor did he respond to the messages.

Victim's lawyer speaks

Speaking with mid-day Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, the actress's lawyer said," The Senior Inspector Sanjiv Dhumal and the officers of Khar police are hand in glove with the accused. Neither did they arrest him during house panchnama, nor did they do it when the accused appeared at the police station after having served notice. No law safeguards an accused from not being arrested when there is a prima facie case made against him. The purported negligence committed by the Khar police on the instructions of the senior police inspector needs to be addressed before higher authorities. We have filed a complaint today before the DCP and Additional CP for the same."

32
Age of the actress