Arjun Sarja molested 4 more actresses; I wish they come out in open: Sruthi Hariharan

News Network
October 22, 2018

Bengaluru, Oct 22: Dropping another #MeToo bombshell, actress Sruthi Hariharan said on Sunday that four more women from the film industry were sexually harassed by multilingual actor Arjun Sarja.

Addressing a press conference, Sruthi said that after she spoke up about how Sarja had touched her "inappropriately" during the shoot of 'Vismaya', four other actresses had narrated similar experiences but they remained anonymous. "I wish they come out in the open," she said. 

She continued: "I have acted with superstars like Darshan and Sudeep but none of them misbehaved with me. Only this actor (Arjun Sarja) misbehaved with me. I have been collecting evidence to fight him legally, and whenever time permits, I will give those details." 

Sruthi got a flood of support from various quarters, including actor Prakash Rai, but the Kannada film industry remained divided over her explosive accusation. 

Rai wrote on Facebook: "Sruthi Hariharan is indeed a talented actress in Sandalwood. Similarly, we shall not forget that senior actor Arjun Sarja is also our pride. But in the wake of Sruthi's allegation, all of us need to understand the trauma that this woman has undergone. Even though Arjun has denied the charges, he must apologize to her for hurting her on that day." 

Actress Shraddha Srinath tweeted in Sruthi's support. "Sruthi and Taapsee are my heroes of today." Sruthi also got support from actresses Neethu Shetty and Ragini Dwivedi. 

Meanwhile, the Film Industry for Equality and Rights (FIRE) has called on other women to speak up against sexual harassment. The organisation's chairperson, Kavitha Lankesh, and its secretary Chetan Kumar promised to support all such women. 

Sarja, too, found supporters in several producers and actors while his daughter and actress Aishwarya Arjun called Sruthi's allegations "disturbing and false". "I would say it is conniving as this is something least expected of her. I had admired her whenever she stood up against harassment. But now I understand why she stood up for such issues as it is the only stuff that gained momentum over anything else," Aishwarya told.

Aishwarya said her family knew who was behind the accusation but she refused to take names. "How could she presume what my dad's intention was? One just cannot accuse the other based on what they think. In fact, during the premiere of the movie, she was happily speaking to him. No woman, if she was ever harassed, would do so. Now, she is lying," she added.

Comments

Fairman
 - 
Monday, 22 Oct 2018

If romance is allowed in front of the camera, and also it is to the extent of if real married couple enjoying.

then why is it a  big fuss that this action will not adversly effect the life

 off the camera.

 

Our ethics is built on wrong foundation. Watching such a unethical film after paying money is allowed and it is treated as liecensed enjoyment,  but the same can not be done outside the film.

It is a double standard of our society.  As long as such a practice is allowed, expect more such criminal actions. Those harrassed  female actresses are the main reasons to act with actors. These actors are not behaving outside girls than their heroins.

Do not expect these heroes to be free from human tendency to commit such acts.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 8: Till date 181 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka including five deaths and 28 discharges, said State Government on Wednesday.

Six new positive cases have been reported from April 7, 5:00 PM to April 8, 12:00 noon, informed Karnataka Government in a bulletin.

Out of the six fresh cases one has been reported from Uttarakannada, two from Kalburgi, one from Mandya, one from Chikkaballapur and one from BBMP Bengaluru.

"In view of breaking the chain and containment of COVID-19, Karnataka State Board of Auqaf, Bengaluru has directed to all the managements not to allow any congregational prayers in the Masajid and the managements of the Qabrasthans (Muslim graveyards) / Darghas throughout the state and to suspend the visit of public on the occasion of SHAB-EBARAT on thursday, April 9," said State Government in its bulletin.

No public shall be allowed to perform religious rituals in the Qabrasthans/Darghas and all the gates of Qabrasthans/Darghas shall be kept closed.

All managements of Qabrasthans/Darghas shall take necessary action on the above directions and all Waqf officers, District Waqf Advisory Committee in state shall adhere to the orders and directed to circulate the same and to ensure the order is followed scrupulously, the State Government added.

India's tally of positive COVID-19 cases stands at 5,194, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

Out of the 5194 cases, 4,643 are reported to be active while 401 people have recovered or have been discharged and one has migrated. The death toll stands at 149.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 25,2020

Chennai, July 25: A widow living alone in her apartment in Chennai city suburbs has filed a police complaint against ABVP national president Dr Subbiah Shanmugam, accusing him of harassment, including urinating and throwing used surgical masks at her doorstep.

Shockingly, no action has been taken so far by the police, even though the complaint against Dr Shanmugam, who is in government service, was filed on July 11 at the Adambakkam Police Station here by the widow’s relative Balaji Vijayaraghavan. 

Dr Shanmugam and the 62-year-old widow were living in the same apartment complex in Nanganallur and an argument broke between them over a parking slot. “He wanted to use our parking lot. We agreed but demanded a nominal charge for using it. He was outraged by our demand and even broke our signboard at the parking lot,” Vijayaraghavan wrote in his complaint.

He also alleged that Dr Shanmugam began harassing her by throwing “pieces of chicken” outside her apartment despite knowing she is a vegetarian. Vijayaraghavan also alleged in his two-page written complaint that the ABVP National President had urinated outside the woman’s apartment gate and had been throwing garbage and used masks at her gate.

The 62-year-old woman has been living alone in her apartment for the last year following her husband’s death. In his complaint, Vijayaraghavan also said the family was “concerned about her safety”, while asking police to take action against Dr Shanmugam, who he says, “has a bad track record in maintaining rapport with neighbours.”

CCTV footage corroborates with the allegations of urinating outside the residence of the widow. However, the ABVP claimed the incident as a “malicious and derogatory propaganda” by the Congress’ student wing of NSUI.

Also Read: Finally FIR registered against ABVP national president for allegedly harassing widow

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News Network
March 11,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 11: The move by rebel ruling Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh to trigger the crisis for the party's government in the state appears to have been in the making for at least close to a month as Karnataka BJP leaders were sounded about hosting them in Bengaluru in advance, sources said.

They also indicated that the 19 rebel MLAs would stay in the city for at least two weeks till an alternative government takes charge in Madhya Pradesh.

A senior Karnataka BJP leader, in charge of the Madhya Pradesh legislators' stay in Bengaluru, received a communication from the party's central leaders about the move nearly 15-20 days ago, the sources involved in the development said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.

The leader had even gone to New Delhi in the third week of February to meet BJP's central leaders in this regard, they said.

In a massive setback for the Congress, its prominent youth leader Jyotiradtya Scindia quit the party and in a coordinated rebellion on Tuesday 21 MLAs loyal to him resigned in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.

As many as 19 Madhya Pradesh MLAs, including six ministers, said to be loyalists of Mr Scindia who appeared set to join BJP, are camping at a resort in Bengaluru. Two of them are women, the sources said.

The MLAs on Tuesday sent their resignation letters via e-mail to Raj Bhavan in Bhopal from Bengaluru.

According to the sources, eight legislators, including an independent, have been staying in the city for about a week now. Of them two - one from Congress and the other an independent MLA - had gone back.

The six were joined by 13 legislators, who landed in the city by a chartered flight on Monday, and all of them are put up in a villa.

The senior Karnataka BJP leader, also an MLA, is looking after their stay and related arrangements on the directions of the party high command, the sources said. Their stay here may be for a couple of weeks.

"There will be a no-confidence motion, and then there will be a trust vote of the new alternative government that will be formed. So they may have to stay here for some time. They may be moved out of their current location," they said.

The Madhya Pradesh legislature session is expected to begin on March 16.

The sources also said the six legislators staying in the city since last week were shifted a couple of times within the city.

Congress in Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Kamal Nath, had come to power in December 2018 by ousting the BJP by a narrow margin.

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