Police have started an investigation against actor-filmmaker Arindam Sil for alleged sexual harassment after an actress lodged an FIR against him with Bishnupur police station, in South 24-Parganas, on Monday.
“An FIR for sexual harassment and outraging of modesty has been drawn up based on a complaint by the actress at Bishnupur police station. Since the incident occurred at a resort in Bishnupur, the complaint was lodged here,” said a senior officer of the Diamond Harbour police district.
“We will now start an investigation based on the complaint.”
The police said the 31-year-old actress alleged that Sil had taken advantage of her while explaining a sequence during a shoot at the resort on April 3 and then asked her how she felt about it.
The actress had in July lodged a complaint with the West Bengal Commission for Women.
The commission has held two hearings on the complaint. The last meeting was held on September 6, following which Sil wrote a letter saying he was tendering an “earnest apology”.
Soon after, the Directors’ Association of Eastern India (DAEI) suspended Sil for “an indefinite period” or till the time he is “cleared” of the allegations.
On Tuesday, Sil said it was unfair that the DAEI had not given him a chance to clarify his position.
“As the director of the film, I was explaining a shot in front of everyone on the set. Am I mad that I would put at stake the entire body of my work so far by mishandling a woman? I have always respected women and have talked about them in my films,” Sil told Metro.
“I was enacting a sequence during the shoot.... I asked her if she was comfortable doing such a scene. That is now being construed as me asking her how she felt about it. It’s sad,” Sil said.
The actress said she sent a complaint to the production house on April 3 and then to the commission in July.
On Tuesday, actress Ritabhari Chakrabarty met chief minister Mamata Banerjee
at Nabanna, the state secretariat, and demanded that the government set up a body on the lines of the Hema Committee in Kerala to prevent sexual assault on those involved in the film industry in the state.
