Actor Alok Nath, who was accused of rape by writer-producer Vinta Nanda and sexual harassment by actor Sandhya Mridul, has filed a civil defamation suit against Vinta and sought a written apology and a compensation of Re 1.
Vinta, in a recent heart-breaking Facebook post, detailed how she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Alok Nath on more than one occasion, 19 years ago. Alok Nath has denied the accusations.
On Saturday, Ashu Singh, Alok Nath’s wife, moved court against Vinta and filed a complaint with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Mumbai’s Andheri Court. She asked the court to direct the Amboli police to take cognisance of her complaint against Vinta and investigate the matter.
Following Ashu Singh’s complaint, Vinta’s advocate Dhruti M Kapadia said in a statement that they are going to fight the matter legally.
“However and whatever the proceedings will be, we will deal with everything following due process of law,” she said.
Vinta is awaiting decisions of various associations like the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), the Screenwriters Association (SWA) and the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA). Alok is supposed to reply to CINTAA by Monday evening and to IFTDA by Thursday.
“Pursuant to decisions we will further decide our next step of action. It is pertinent to note my client is further humiliated in continuity for which we will legally take recourse. She will not be deprived of any legal help she seeks. My client will not be intimidated by threats and defamation suits which are primarily meant to delay and distract from the gravity of the allegations,” Dhruti said.
In her account, Vinta had written: “He was an alcoholic, shameless and obnoxious but he was also the television star of that decade, so not only was he forgiven for all his bad behaviour, many of the guys would also egg him on to be his worst.”
She went on to describe her experience and write about how she was brutalised in her own home.
“I started to walk home on the empty streets... Midway I was accosted by this man who was driving his own car and he asked me to sit in it and said he would drop me home. I trusted him and sat in his car. I have faint memory after that. I can remember more liquor being poured into my mouth and I remember being violated endlessly. When I woke up the next afternoon, I was in pain. I hadn’t just been raped, I was taken to my own house and had been brutalised.”
(With IANS inputs)