Actor Alok Nath was granted anticipatory bail on Saturday in a rape case filed by screenwriter and producer Vinta Nanda.
The City Civil and Sessions Court at Dindoshi in Mumbai was hearing his plea filed last month seeking protection from arrest following the registration of an FIR in the month before which said that he raped her 19 years ago.
On October 8, Ms. Nanda posted a Facebook status, recalling Mr. Nath’s misconduct on the sets of the popular 90s TV show, ''Tara''. It talked about how Mr. Nath ‘viciously’ molested the protagonist of the show.
It said, “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. I couldn’t get up for my bed. I told some of my friends but everybody advised me to forget about it and move on. My company was closed but I got a job to write and direct a series for Plus Channel. The man found his way through the casting route and became one of the lead actors on the show.”
Soon thereafter, the Cine And TV Artistes’ Association sent a notice to Mr. Nath, demanding to know why he should not be debarred after the harassment allegations.
On October 18, Ms. Nanda submitted an application for FIR against Mr. Nath . She is the third woman to approach the Mumbai police after the #MeToo movement broke out.
