Pooja Bhatt stalker tracked, arrested

The police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man in Pune for allegedly making obscene calls to actor and film producer Pooja Bhatt.

The police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man in Pune for allegedly making obscene calls to actor and film producer Pooja Bhatt.

Bhatt had complained about the caller on January 9, following which the police investigated the matter and tracked down the accused, Ashish Swarnakar, who works at a gallery of a major mobile service provider, in Pune.

The caller had also tried calling filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, Pooja’s father, but the senior Bhatt did not answer the call. Deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar said the investigators were questioning Swarnakar, who is from Latur, to ascertain the motive behind the supposedly lewd calls he had made.

“It appears he wanted to harass her,” said Dighavkar, adding, “he does not have any past criminal record”. The police said Swarnakar got the mobile numbers of Bhatt and her father from a friend who is a music composer. They live in the same building in Pune.

The police will ask Dhruv why Swarnakar asked him for the mobile numbers of the Bhatts. They are also checking if Swarnakar has made such calls to any other celebrities.