In a live Instagram post on 9 December, a 17-year-old teen Bollywood actor broke down and accused the man seated behind her, on a flight from Delhi to Mumbai, of rubbing his foot against her back and neck while she was half-asleep on the flight.
Although the teen star received abundant support from the Hindi film industry, doubts were also raised about the authenticity of the 17-year-old’s allegations. Some even termed it a ‘publicity stunt’. In a twitter post, Mumbai police urged citizens and netizens to avoid making any judgments and let them do their job.
“It is the constitutional right of every victim to report sexual abuse and it is our duty to take cognizance, investigate & facilitate justice. Kindly refrain from being judgmental and respect the right of a victim of a sexual assault”.Mumbai Police (via Twitter)
The accused, Vikas Sachdev, has been sent to judicial custody till 22 December.
Sachdev was booked for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) as the actor is a minor.
The teen actor was trolled on Instagram with many people accusing her of seeking attention. While many on social media came to her aid, there were some who questioned her intent and asked why she did not complain to the relevant authorities while she was on the flight.
(The Quint is not naming the victim as the law states that victims of sexual crimes cannot be identified.)
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