Anurag Kashyap denies reckless' rape allegations, says he was in Sri Lanka at the time
Mumbai: Vehemently denying actor Payal Ghosh's allegations of rape against him, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Friday described them as false and reckless and said he was out of the country during the period she has mentioned in her FIR.
A statement issued by his lawyer a day after he was questioned in the case said Kashyap provided documentary proof to the police to establish the fact that he was in Sri Lanka shooting for a film in August 2013.
Versova police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Kashyap on September 22 after Ghosh alleged that he had raped her in August 2013.
"Mr. Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Mr. Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of Ms. Ghosh is an outright lie, said the statement by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani.
Kashyap, who was questioned by Mumbai Police for eight hours on Thursday, has said he will vigorously pursue legal remedies.
Mr. Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him, Khimani said in the statement.
She said the filmmaker believes the falsity of the complaint has been exposed by the ever-shifting versions of events shared by Ghosh.
Khimani said the filmmaker is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans .
Mr. Kashyap vehemently denies any such incident, as has been alleged, and has sought for severe action against Ms. Ghosh for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives. Mr. Kashyap is confident that justice will prevail, the statement read.
Last month, Ghosh took to Twitter to claim that Kashyap was sexually inappropriate towards her, an allegation the director had dismissed as baseless .
Police has invoked IPC sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) against the Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker.
Earlier this week, Ghosh and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale had met Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari to seek action against Kashyap.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
