On Wednesday, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court stayed proceedings of an alleged sexual harassment case against actor Vijay Raaz at Gondia sessions court. Vijay, on November 2, 2020, was arrested for allegedly molesting a female crew member on the sets of Sherni in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.
Vijay has also filed a petition seeking quashing and setting aside the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him at the Ramnagar police station of Gondia. In the petition, the actor stated that the complaint registered by the female crew member is based on "imagination with ill intention to malign the image and gain popularity at the cost of a senior actor". He claimed that he hasn't committed any offence.
He further mentioned that it would have been a case of sexual harassment only if there was a physical contact that involved unwelcoming and explicit sexual overtures or demand or request for sexual favours. Vijay further stated that he visited Gondia for the first time and was new to the sets. He said that it was the assistant director, who filed the FIR, to guide him.
According to the renowned actor, it was the complainant's work to keep him updated about the call time of the shoot, to make necessary arrangements like vanity van, arrangements of costume, look, get up, including wig and makeup and also giving the brief about the scenes.
The actor further stated that the allegations of the female crew member were false as they were at the shoot location on October 27, 2020. He added that the location was about 125 km from the hotel. He claimed that the allegation of him keeping his hand on the shoulder of the assistant director after returning from the morning walk was untrue.
(Source: India Today)
