Tanushree Dutta returned from United States of America after a decade and started a wave of the Me Too campaign in Bollywood when she accused actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment and abuse in 2008 on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss. The case took the industry by storm and actors came in support of Tanushree, awaiting justice for her.
After months of hearings and interviews, the police have officially closed the file on this case, giving Nana Patekar a clean chit due to lack of evidence against him. Reacting to this, Tanushree spoke to a leading daily and expressed her dismay. She said, “At about 5 am, I got a call from a friend who told me about it. This is disgusting because Nana Patekar has been trying to get a clean chit for a while now. I have also mentioned this earlier in an interview that our witnesses have been getting threat calls, and they are being intimidated and pressured in every way so that they do not record their statements with the police. We have 10 witnesses, out of which only one and a half statements have been recorded. The others have not even come forward, as they have got threat calls. Cops say that there is lack of evidence. How will credible evidence be produced, if the accused is making sure that no evidence against him reaches the police? The witnesses that the police have recorded the statements (in his favour) from, are his friends. From the unite present during the time of the shoot back then, no one was really my friend. Also, the witnesses did not say nothing happened, they said, they don’t remember anything.”
Despite the final verdict, Tanushree showed hope. She said, “Disappointment happens when you are shocked about something. I didn’t have much expectation from the harassment case. I also think Nana Patekar is desperately trying to come back to Bollywood and now, he wants his name to be cleared somehow. My only hope of judgement now is from God. I will continue this fight, “reports Indian Express.
