Bengaluru, Oct 27: A case of attempt to outrage the modesty of a woman has been slapped against popular South Indian film actor Arjun Sarja on a complaint by multi-lingual actress Sruthi Hariharan.
The actress, who has essayed roles in several Kannada films in a post on her Facebook page praising the '#Metoo" movement, had last week accused Sarja of "lewd and complete unprofessional behavior" with her during the shooting for a bilingual film in 2016.
Sruthi's complaint with the Cubbon Park police came a day after the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC)'s attempt to bring about a conciliation between the two actors failed.
"Based on a complaint from Sruthi Hariharan, we have registered a case under Sections 354 354A, 506 and 509 of theIPC.
The main content of it is that he misbehaved with her.We will investigate all the aspects mentioned in the complaint," DCP (Central Bengaluru) D Devaraj told reporters.
Section 354 relates to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, 506 to punishment for criminal intimidation and 509 to word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.
The actress has also mentioned the manager and two others as the witnesses, Devaraj said, adding, "We will inquire with them too."
Sruthi has alleged that Sarja had sexually abused her since 2015.
The actress recalled one incident in December 2015 when she was travelling with her team to her house in her car and Sarja followed her in his vehicle.
When the vehicles stopped at a traffic signal, he passed a sexually explicit comment, she alleged.
The actress further stated that the #MeToo movement gave her strength to share her story with people.
After Sruthi's Facebook post last week,Sarja had told a TV channel that he has great respect for women right from his childhood and that he was never involved in any incident that disrespected women or embarrassed them.
He had also said he respects "#metoo" and values it, but cautioned against its misuse.
Sarja had also said that he has shared screen space with 60-70 actresses in the 150 movies he has acted in and has a good relationship with all of them.
Days after Sruthi's charge, Sarja on Thursday filed a Rs five defamation suit against her in a city court.
"There is no question of compromise because the pain is intense. Not only me, but my family, friends and above all, my fans in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are deeply hurt.
I don't want others to be sacrificed like this," Sarja had said after the KFCC's failed patch-up efforts.
"We have gone to court. You will come to know in the coming days who are behind this campaign against me," Sarja had said after the meeting.
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