Sruthi Hariharan, the Kannada actress who opened up recently about the sexual harassment she faced from actor Arjun Sarja as a part of the #MeToo movement, has now filed a police complaint against the latter at the Cubbon Park Police Station in Bengaluru on October 28.
In the complaint lodged, Sruthi Hariharan alleged that she faced sexual harassment from Action King Arjun during the shooting of the Tamil movie 'Nibunan' (released as Vismaya in Kannada) three years ago.
The Cubbon Park Police have booked the veteran star under three sections that include 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, 354A (Sexual Harassment), and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). As per close sources to the actress, she has also lodged a complaint against Arjun's manager Prasanth Sambargi for making threats on her life if she proceeded with the legal procedures.
As per Sruthi Hariharan, the sexual harassment incident happened in November 2015, when the duo was shooting for Nibunan at a bungalow near Presidency College, Bangalore. The duo was playing the role of married couples in the film, and the director has planned to shoot some intimate scenes for the movie.
Sruthi alleged that Arjun touched her inappropriately while rehearsing a hugging scene. The actress also admitted that she silently suffered all these exploitations as she was an upcoming artist, and Arjun is an established star who has unquestionable dominance in the industry.
The actress also added that Arjun Sarja was very much determined to outrage her modesty despite continuous resistance.
A couple of days ago, Arjun Sarja filed a defamation case of Rs 5 crore against Sruthi Hariharan for her comments.
In the meantime, rumours have started spreading in Bangalore that Arjun will be arrested soon, but lawyers have clarified that there will not be such a move from the Police at this juncture.