'This is Bollywood': Cameraman's excuse after raping struggler

In yet another case of a struggling actress being taken advantage of, a TV cameraman has been accused of raping a 25-year-old woman on the pretext of giving her roles in television shows. Ravindranath Ghosh, a cameraman who has worked on several soap operas, met the survivor Swati (name changed) in 2011 in Andheri.

Ravindra Ghosh raped the woman 15 times, from April 2012

Ghosh, a Goregaon resident, claimed he had contacts of several producers and had the clout to give her a role in a TV serial. But, he told her, she would have to get physical with him in exchange for work. According to the complaint lodged at MIDC police station, Andheri, he took her to a lodge and allegedly raped her 15 times from April 2012 till date.

Ravindra Ghosh

When asked about the allegations, Ghosh brazenly admitted, "It's true that I had a physical relationship with her. But it is Bollywood's nature: kuchh paane ke liye kuchh khona padta hai (To win some, you got to lose some). I had promised her a role and also paid her hotel and lodge bills. I spent more than Rs 2 lakh on her." He then threatened this reporter, "I dare you to publish this in your paper. Do it, and see what happens."

Promises
In September 2011, Ghosh called Swati to a club in Goregaon and asked her to submit her portfolio. When the survivor submitted her photographs, Ghosh told her they were not ‘glamorous enough' and offered to shoot her portfolio. He then took her pictures in a bikini and revealing clothes and promised to forward it to modelling firms and TV production houses. He also said he would get her work within a week.

After this, Ghosh called the woman for lunch and dinner, and would always tell her he was waiting for a response. Realising that the man couldn't deliver on his promise, Swati started ignoring his phone calls. He then called her to a Malad mall, on the pretext of an audition, and told her she would have to get into a physical relationship with him if she wanted work in Bollywood.

When the survivor disagreed, he threatened to upload her pictures on social networking sites and also send it to her husband via Whatsapp. The husband works in Gujarat. Helpless, the victim agreed. In April 2012, the man took her to a lodge at Madh jetty in Malad and raped her. He also clicked pictures of her during the act. Since then, he has raped her 15 times in the same lodge. Every time, he clicked snaps of her in the nude.

‘Give me money'
A fortnight ago, he started blackmailing her for money using these pictures and demanded that he be given Rs 3 lakh. When the survivor refused, an angry Ghosh forwarded her nude pictures to her husband. "Ghosh e-mailed the photographs and told my husband I was having an affair with him. My husband has stopped taking my calls since that day. My life is over," said a distressed Swati, who also has a five-month-old baby. He continued to threaten her with calls and text messages. The survivor added that Ghosh would claim to be close to an underworld don.

Last week, the survivor met lawyer Manoj Singh, who advised her to file a complaint with the police. The woman lodged a complaint at the MIDC police station in Andheri on Tuesday. "We have received the complaint and the matter is under investigation. We will give justice to the lady," said Suresh Hujband, senior inspector, MIDC police station. When asked about the complaint, Ghosh brazenly admitted, I had promised her a role in serials and spent more than Rs 2 lakh on her, paying the hotel and lodge bills."

Past incidents
>> December 15: An assistant director of Bhojpuri films was arrested for molesting a Bhojpuri actress. The woman said that she had gone to audition when he misbehaved with her and touched her inappropriately
>> January 16: A 49-year-old Marathi film producer was arrested for raping a struggler on the pretext of giving her a role
>> October 11, 2011: A Gujarati film actress filed a complaint of molestation against a film producer and a financier after the two allegedly tried to rape her.