A 27-year-old man from Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district was arrested on Sunday for allegedly forcing aspiring models into pornography by threatening them or promising them roles in web series or TV serials, police said.
Prakash Das, the accused, allegedly introduced himself as an assistant producer in Tollywood to aspiring actresses and models and also had an office near Tollygunge in south Kolkata, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.
He was arrested based on a complaint lodged by an aspiring model and actress with the Salt Lake Cyber Crime police station.
The woman mentioned in the complaint that she had been contacted by an associate of Das, who promised her a role in a popular web series.
“Das and his aides then got in touch with her and called her to a New Town hotel,” an officer of the Salt Lake Cyber Crime police station said.
The woman wrote in the complaint that she was forced to participate in a nude shoot and perform acts on one of the men in the room. The entire sequence was filmed.
Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee told a Salt Lake court, where Das was produced, that the accused and his aides had lured many women into pornography.
“At least five victims have stepped forward and lodged formal complaints against the group,” Chatterjee said.
Das’s lawyer Ronny Kar told the court that his client was being framed.