The Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) issued a statement yesterday apologising to Tanushree Dutta for not having taken proper cognizance of her sexual harassment complaint against actor Nana Patekar in 2008.
Sushant Singh, the general secretary of the association, declared that Dutta’s concerns were not appropriately addressed back then. “After going through Ms Tanushree Dutta’s complaint, which was filed with the then Executive Committee of CINTAA in March 2008, we feel that the decision taken by the Joint Dispute Settlement Committee of CINTAA and Indian Film and TV producers Council (then known as Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers) in July 2008 was not appropriate, as the chief grievance of sexual harassment wasn’t even addressed,” the statement read.
Singh, on behalf of the organisation, added: “Although it was a different Executive Committee at that time, as CINTAA, we find it highly regrettable and no apologies can suffice.”
He then clarified that the association would not be able to take action now as the guidelines stated that it cannot act on cases that exceeded a three-year time gap. Singh, who is also an actor, is quoted to have said in an Indian Express report: “We hope this move by CINTAA will help Ms Tanushree Dutta’s case and encourage others to come forward and report similar matters.”
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Tanushree Dutta recently leveled accusations of sexual assault against actor Nana Patekar. The incident that occurred on the sets of the 2009 movie Horn Ok Pleass even led to a mob of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) workers vandalizing her car, which according to the actor, was done at the behest of Nana Patekar. Several eyewitnesses testified to the incident, and a video footage of the violent attack on her car has since gone viral.
While several actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Richa Chadha and Swara Bhasker have come out in support of Dutta, other top actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan have only issues ambiguous statements thus far.
Image courtesy: News18