Sruthi Hariharan’s #MeToo Complaint Anti-Hindu Ploy: Sarja Aide

Prashant Sambargi, media manager of Arjun Sarja, said that #MeToo campaign was an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments.

Photo of Prashant Sambargi, the media manager of actor Arjun Sarja.

(Photo: The Quint)

In a bizarre statement, a close associate of actor Arjun Sarja has alleged that the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him as part of the #MeToo campaign was an anti-Hindu conspiracy.

He claimed that actress Sruti Hariharan, who accused Sarja of sexual misconduct, “had received funds from aboard to stop the construction of a Hanuman temple”.

Prashant Sambargi, media manager of the actor, said:

The entire #MeToo campaign was an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments.

Prashant Sambargi, Media manager

Sambargi made this statement outside the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, while the “reconciliation meeting” between Hariharan and Sarja was underway.

Background

On 19 October, in a Facebook post, Sruthi alleged that Arjun had behaved inappropriately on the pretext of a rehearsal. She said that he’d pulled her close to him and had run his hand on her back without her consent.

On Thursday afternoon, Sarja's nephew Dhruva Sarja, on behalf of the actor, had filed a Rs 5 crore defamation case against Hariharan at the Bengaluru City Civil Court.

Sambargi, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the actor, said they have submitted 400 pages of proof to show that the campaign against the actor was carried out by ‘agencies’ in the USA.

“In this entire social media campaign, she has been paid by entities in Washington … We have screenshots, URLs and IP addresses. We have submitted these documents to the police commissioner.”

Prashant Sambargi, Media manager

‘Targeted Because Building Hanuman Temple’

He also alleged that two prominent actors in the Kannada film industry are backing her on this ‘smear campaign’.

He argued the actor was targeted because he was constructing a Hanuman temple in Chennai.

“They want to malign his character because he is building a Hanuman temple at the cost of Rs 25 crore, because he is an ardent devotee of lord Ram. This temple was supposed to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sruti has connections from her hometown in Kerala and this campaign is part of the run up to the 2019 general elections.”

Prashant Sambargi, Media manager