FIR registered against man who raped aspiring actress

After MiD DAY reported how Ravindranath Ghosh exploited and raped a struggling actress, police registered a case of rape against the accused

Days after MiD DAY exposed a Bollywood technician’s shenanigans and the way in which he forced an aspiring actress to get physical with him (‘This is Bollywood: Cameraman’s excuse after raping struggler’, December 19), the police have lodged an FIR against the man, Ravindranath Ghosh, on charges of rape.

Ravindranath Ghosh

The case
Ravindranath Ghosh (45) had, in 2011, met the aspiring actress Swati (25) through a common friend. On the pretext of providing roles in television serials, he then convinced her to let him shootu00a0her portfolio. He then proceeded to shoot her pictures in revealing clothes. Ghosh then threatened to release these pictures on social media websites and also send them to the woman’s husband if she didn’t sleep with him. Helpless, the victim agreed. The light man allegedly raped the woman 15 times, beginning April 2012.

MiD DAY report on the incident

He clicked snaps of the woman in the nude each time, and used them as a bargaining card to demand Rs 3 lakh from her. When Swati refused, Ghosh sent the pictures to her husband who works in Gujarat. Her husband has since stopped talking to her. “My life is ruined,” Swati, who has a five-month-old baby, had said. When asked about the incident, Ghosh had boorishly replied to this reporter, “This is Bollywood: kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hai.” He had also threatened him with dire consequences if his actions were made public.

The FIR
After Swati lodged a complaint (copy available with MiD DAY) with the MIDC police on Wednesday, the MIDC police in Andheri have booked Ghosh under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR was registered on Friday and the case transferred to the Vanrai police station the next day, as the incident had occurred in their jurisdiction.

“We have registered FIR against Ghosh under section 376 (rape), 384 (extortion), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC and 66 (E) (violation of privacy policy) of Information Technology Act. The matter is under investigation. We will get him soon,” said MB Kadam, senior inspector, Vanrai police station.

“I am thankful to the MIDC and Vanrai police station for lodging FIR against Ghosh. I hope police will arrest him soon,” said Swati. During their primary investigations, police have found that Ghosh is not a cameraman, as he had claimed to Swati and MiD DAY. He is a light technician and has worked on soap operas on television. Even after repeated attempts to try and contact him, Ghosh was unavailable for comment as his phone was switched off. He is currently absconding.u00a0

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