The Mumbai Police have now filed a charge sheet against choreographer Ganesh Acharya in a 2020 case brought by a co-dancer after he was accused of sexual harassment, stalking, and voyeurism. Hindustan Times reports that the charge sheet was recently filed at a magistrate court in the city’s outskirts. Mumbai’s Oshiwara police station is handling the investigation.
Sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking, 509 (insulting the modesty of any woman), 323 (inflicting pain), 504 (intentional insult with a purpose to incite a breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention to conduct an offence) have been cited in the report against Ganesh Acharya.
An important blow to a well-known Bollywood choreographer, if confirmed. “Because I lack the charge sheet, I’m unable to comment more, but I can state that all the charges in the FIR were defensible in court.” According to his lawyer, Ravi Suryavanshi.
The dancer said in her police report that she had allegedly rejected the choreographer’s sexual approaches. She claimed that Ganesh Acharya had molested her, made inappropriate remarks about her, and had shown her pornographic materials.
According to her, Acharya allegedly informed her in May 2019 that she needed to have sex with him if she wanted to be successful in the profession according to HT. After six months, the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association reportedly cancelled her membership because she refused.
Acharya’s aides, according to the lady, beat her up. “It was after this, that I went to the police, but they refused to file a complaint and instead recorded a non-cognizable case. I called a lawyer to pursue things further,” The lady told HT.