Woman claims Atul Bali of Barry John Acting Studio slapped her 20 times, pulled up her T-shirt in class, and that the management ignored her complaint
Atul Bali, the teacher
A student of the Andheri-based Barry John Acting Studio, run by the eponymous Briton famously known as Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s guru, has filed a police complaint against an instructor of the institute for alleged molestation and assault during class. She has alleged that the institute failed to act on her complaint.
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According to the 21-year-old complainant, she arrived in the city from Ahmedabad this July to try her luck in Bollywood, and began looking up acting classes soon after. "I came across the Barry John Acting Studio and found that Barry John had trained actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Frieda Pinto. I thought it was my best option and enrolled on July 16 for a three-month course, with two classes per week," she said.
Making advances at her
Soon after the classes began, an instructor, Atul Bali, making passes at her. "Since I was focused on my classes, I ignored them. But on September 12, he molested me and slapped me several times during class," she alleged.
It was during a playacting session that the alleged assault took place. "He (Bali) began a game called 'Kings and Slaves', where he played the role of a king and I was made the slave. He sat in a chair and asked me to lick his big toe. I objected to it, but he again told me to lick his toe. When I told him I couldn’t do it, he pushed me, slapped me 20 times and pulled up my T-shirt," the woman alleged.
No action on complaint
She immediately raised the issue with the institute’s management. “The authorities did not act on my complaint. They told me they would hear Bali’s side as well and then decide the course of action. I waited for two days, but they did nothing. I then decided to complain to the police,” she said.
On September 14, the Amboli police registered an FIR under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC. Bharat Gaikwad, senior Amboli police inspector, said, “We are investigating the case.” Barry John did not respond to mid-day’s calls and message.
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