Bollywood talent manager Anirban Das Blah, who was accused of sexual harassment last week, allegedly tried to commit suicide in Navi Mumbai late on Thursday night, said the police. The co-founder of Talent agency KWAN Entertainment–who has managed actors like Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in the past–had stepped down from his position on Tuesday.
The police rescued him around 12.30 am from Vashi’s old bridge after being tipped off that he planned to commit suicide. “We had information about an individual coming towards Vashi bridge to commit suicide,” a senior traffic inspector told The Hindu.
The police said Blah was climbing over the barricades of the bridge when they caught hold of him. He seemed frustrated and depressed, the newspaper reported, quoting the police. “We haven’t charged him as he has not done any [suicidal] act,” senior Police Inspector Anil Deshmukh (Vashi) told The Hindu. “He told us that he had come for a walk at the bridge. After his family reached, we handed him over to them.”
As many as four women have accused Blah of sexual harassment, Mid Day had reported earlier this week. One of the women alleged that he invited her to his home in Mumbai for an interview and then asked her to strip. Another woman accused him of asking her to come to his hotel suite as “casting is done in bedrooms and not in public spaces”. A third woman alleged that Blah had asked her if she would be willing to be part of an “unnatural sex setup”. Another actor said that Blah attempts “a systematic breakdown of confidence” of women by sexually harassing them.
KWAN Entertainment had asked Blah to resign after the allegations surfaced against him. The Live Love Laugh Foundation, an initiative by Deepika Padukone to spread awareness about mental health, said on Tuesday that Blah also resigned as its trustee.
Since October 5, several women since have levelled allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against journalists, media professionals, actors, filmmakers and writers. Jorunalist-turned-politician MJ Akbar is one of the prominent names accused of sexual harassment. On Monday, Akbar filed a defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani. He resigned from the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Similarly, actor Alok Nath has also filed a civil defamation suit against writer, director and producer Vinta Nanda for accusing him of rape. He has sought a written apology and compensation of Re 1.
Among the other prominent names in Bollywood who have been accused of harassment are actors Nana Patekar and Rajat Kapoor, filmmakers Sajid Khan, Vikas Bahl, Luv Ranjan and Subhash Ghai .
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