Due Process Fails: Twitter Slams Police in Tanushree #MeToo Case

The Mumbai police have closed their enquiry into the #MeToo allegations against Nana Patekar.

Tanushree Dutta has filed a case against Nana Patekar for sexual harassment.

(Photo: IANS)

Twitter users have expressed their outrage at Nana Patekar being given a clean chit by the police in the case of sexual harassment filed against him by actor Tanushree Dutta last October. The Mumbai police submitted a B Summary report before a metropolitan magistrate in Andheri in Mumbai on 12 June citing lack of evidence as a reason for the closure of their enquiry into the matter.

Journalist Janice Sequeira lamented the fact that several men who have been accused during the #MeToo movement that hit India late last year are slowly being absolved of the allegations against them. “And one by one, all the predators are being given a clean chit. Wow, why do we women even bother? I’m BOILING with rage right now!” she tweeted. Last year, Sequeira had corroborated Tanushree’s version of events in a series of tweets.

Other Twitter users shared a similar sentiment, offering actor Alok Nath and director Vikas Bahl as examples of men who have returned to the public eye seemingly without experiencing any consequences despited being accused of sexual misconduct.

Alok Nath was most recently seen in Ajay Devgn starrer De De Pyaar De, while Vikas Bahl’s directorial credits for Hrithik Roshan’s upcoming film Super 30 were reinstated after an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) cleared him of all charges.

Tanushree Dutta has issued a statement in response to the closure report calling it is the result of a “corrupt police force and legal system”. She questioned its timing saying that all of her witness haven’t yet recorded their statements.

One Twitter user lauded her for taking the legal route to contest the police’s decision.

Tanushree Dutta has issued a statement in response to the closure report calling it is the result of a “corrupt police force and legal system”. She questioned its timing saying that all of her witness haven’t yet recorded their statements.

Her lawyer Nitin Satpute claims he is yet to receive official communication from the the police but has alleged that the police acted "negligently" to protect Patekar. "The police have not done proper investigation, so we are opposing the summary report and are also going to file a writ petition before the Bombay High Court," he told PTI.