Amboli police on Wednesday registered an FIR against Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya after a 33-year-old assistant choreographer alleged that he used to watch pornographic videos in his Andheri office when she or other women visited him, and that he demanded sexual favours from her. Acharya has called the allegations “false and baseless” and his lawyer, Ravi Suryawanshi, said they submitted a written defamation complaint against the woman to Oshiwara police on January 31.
Paramjit Singh Dahiya, deputy commissioner of police, zone 9 said, “We registered the offence against him [Acharya].” Acharya and two of his assistant choreographers, Jayshree Kelkar and Preeti Lad, have been booked under relevant sections of IPC for sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking, criminal intimidation, among other offences.
Someshwar Kamthe, senior inspector, Amboli police station, said the case was transferred to Oshiwara police. According to the woman’s statement, in 2009-10, when she was working as a dancer, she used to go to Acharya’s office to collect payment. She alleged that she saw him watching pornographic videos, and that whenever he would see any woman coming into his office, he would increase the volume. “One day I visited his office. He turned his laptop towards me, asked me to enjoy the video and pulled me towards him. I got away and warned him,” the woman told HT. According to the woman, on May 31, 2019, when she visited his office, he allegedly told her that if she wanted to succeed, she would have to have sex with him. On November 27, 2019, she got a letter from the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association that her membership had been cancelled. The woman alleged that when she went to IFTCA’s general meeting on January 26 on another choreographer’s recommendation, two women assaulted her on Acharya’s instructions.
Acharya, however, said, “I don’t know this girl. After her complaints I found she was part of a group of dancers I worked with in 2007. She is doing all this as she was expelled from the choreographer’s association and is now the committee member of a rival dancers’ association, which is against me. She had sent letters and notices to me, to IFTCA, making false allegations against me of harassing her.”
{{/usCountry}}Acharya, however, said, “I don’t know this girl. After her complaints I found she was part of a group of dancers I worked with in 2007. She is doing all this as she was expelled from the choreographer’s association and is now the committee member of a rival dancers’ association, which is against me. She had sent letters and notices to me, to IFTCA, making false allegations against me of harassing her.”
{{/usCountry}}Suryawanshi said they have filed a non-cognisable complaint against the woman. “We also lodged a complaint with Amboli police.”