Pune: Twenty four-year-old Marathi actor-director Mandar Kulkarni has been arrested by Pune Police for allegedly sexually harassing a girl during a photo shoot. Mandar Kulkarni, the accused, was arrested August 23, said an official of the Deccan police station here. Kulkarni has acted in some commercial plays and conducts theatre workshops.
Mandar Kulkarni met the complainant girl, who is 17 years old, at one such workshop, police informed.
“Subsequently, Kulkarni called her to his apartment August 16, stating that he wanted to cast her in a play. He gave her some dresses to wear and clicked her pictures,” said an officer attached to Deccan police station.
Kulkarni then allegedly handed her a bikini, and when the girl expressed reservations, he showed her pictures of other girls in that attire, the officer said. The girl wore the bikini and he clicked some more pictures.
Later the girl told her mother about the incident, and they approached police, the officer informed.
A first information report (FIR) was registered under section 354 (outraging woman’s modesty) of the IPC as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Kulkarni was arrested, the officer stated. Further probe was on, he added.
Sources however, said that this is not the first instance where Kulkarni has allegedly harassed young girls on the pretext of giving them a break. However, none of the girls had come forward to lodge a complaint.
PTI