Model and actor Kate Sharma, who had filed a police complaint against filmmaker Subhash Ghai and accused him of molestation, has withdrawn her complaint, reports said on Saturday. In her letter dated November 14 to Mumbai’s DN Nagar Police, Sharma cited her mother’s poor health – caused by the stress she experienced since the actor went public with her allegations – for her decision.
Sharma told Midday that she was “fed up” of police inaction in the case. “I want to take care of my family and my ailing mother instead of roaming here and there to get justice for whatever has happened to me,” she said.
“People are really making fun of the entire #MeToo campaign. Nothing has happened, nobody has been arrested,” Sharma told the daily. “If cops are only busy registering first information reports, then what is the use of this entire campaign? The police asked me if I wanted to register an FIR, but I do not see any reason for moving ahead to get justice as whatever I had to say is in the public domain.”
Sharma had filed her complaint during the rise of the Me Too movement in India. Since October 5, dozens of women have taken to social media to give detailed accounts of the sexual harassment and misconduct they have faced across several sectors such as advertising, Tamil and Hindi filmindustries, the field of arts, music and dance, publishing, journalism, sports, religion and non-profit organisations. Some of the prominent names from Bollywood accused of sexual harassment or misconduct include actors Nana Patekar, Alok Nath, Rajat Kapoor, and directors Sajid Khan and Vikas Bahl.
Kate Sharma’s complaint
In her complaint on October 14, Sharma had said that Ghai had called her to his house on August 6. She claimed he had asked her for a massage while they were in the presence of a group of people. “It was shocking for me, but I respected his seniority and agreed,” Sharma said. “I massaged him for two to three minutes and then went to the washroom to wash my hand. He followed me there. He then took me to his room saying he wanted to talk to me about something. However, he grabbed me and tried to kiss and hug me.”
Sharma had said that when she told him she wanted to leave, the director threatened her. “He said that he will not launch me if I do not stay with him for the night,” Sharma had said.
Ghai had said he was a “great supporter” of the #MeToo movement, but that some people were trying to harm his reputation. “I hope that those taking undue advantage of the movement do not end up diluting it for their own short-time fame,” the 73-year-old director had said on Twitter.
Another allegation against Ghai
In October, an unidentified woman had accused Ghai of drugging and raping her. The woman claimed that Ghai promised to be her mentor in the industry and often invited her to his flat. She accused him of touching her inappropriately before spiking her drink. She alleged that he took her to a hotel and raped her there.
Ghai had denied the allegations and said that it had become a fashion to malign a well-known person.
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