COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

One held for assault on actress

The police today arrested a man for allegedly trying to outrage the modesty of actress Archana Joglekar inside the state government-run Panth Nivas in Bhubaneswar last night.

The actress has been in the city for the last 10 days in connection with the shooting of an Oriya film Stree, directed by Rabi Kinnagi. She was supposed to complete her shooting today.

Joglekar lodged a complaint with the Bargarh police station last night.

The police said they arrested an alleged anti-social, Bhubananda Panda, in the case. The incident has sent shock waves in state film circles.

This is the second incident in which a non-Oriya film actress has been assaulted by anti-social elements. Six years ago, actress Rupa Ganguly (who played Draupadi in B R Chopra's television serial Mahabharat) was assaulted while she was staying in a hotel in Keonjhar.

A visibly upset Joglekar told the media that someone knocked her room at about 2300 hours. Since she had just returned from the film shooting and ordered dinner, she opened the door, presuming that the waiter had come with the food.

''But to my surprise, I saw another man near the door. Behind him was the waiter standing with the food,'' she said. ''The man suddenly asked for my autograph. When I refused to give any autographs at night and asked him to come the next morning, the man pushed the door and entered my room.

"Then the ordeal started. The man tried to assault me. I shouted for help and even pushed the calling bell,, but none of the Panth Nivas staff came to my rescue. The man pushed me and tried to press my throat."

The actress kicked the man who then fled the scene. She followed the criminal and came to the reception hall, when, to her surprise, she saw the man there. ''As many as 10 Panth Nivas staff were also present at that time.''

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report