Tanushree Dutta Demands Lie-Detector Test For Nana Patekar, Other Accused

Team Udayavani, Oct 14, 2018, 9:08 AM IST

Mumbai: Actor Tanushree Dutta, whose sexual harassment allegation against Nana Patekar triggered the MeToo movement in India, has now demanded that the accused be subjected to a lie-detector test.

Ms Dutta’s advocate Nitin Satpute submitted an application at the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai on Saturday saying that actor Nana Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui and director Rakesh Sarang be made to undergo narco-analysis, brain mapping and lie detector tests.

Ms Dutta has accused the 67-year-old actor of misbehaving with her when the two were shooting a special song for Hindi film “Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss” 10 years ago. Based on her complaint, the Oshiwara police had registered a complaint against Mr Patekar and the other three accused.

Ms Dutta has also sought the arrest of all the accused and who she calls “their fake witnesses”.

Her lawyer Nitin Satpute said that the accused were “highly influential and high profile” persons with “good political connections” and, therefore, it was possible that they could put “undue pressure, fear, coercion and influence” on the witnesses.

He claimed that there were eye witnesses to the alleged incident which took place on March 26, 2008 but they were not coming forward to record their statement as they were afraid of the accused.

“The witnesses will step forward to record their statement only after the accused are arrested,” he said.  Ms Dutta has also approached the Maharashtra State Commission for Women as well as the Deputy Collector to seek justice, Mr Satpute said.

Mr Patekar continues to deny Ms Dutta’s allegations.   “I said this ten years ago… a lie is a lie,” he told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Ms Dutta found some support from the Cine and TV Artists Association. 

The association’s senior joint secretary Amit Behl said on Saturday, “We agree that Tanushree Dutta’s complaint wasn’t addressed properly in 2008. We don’t know why they (the association) only looked into the monetary (financial) aspect of her complaint and did not consider her complaint on sexual harassment”.