Cops arrest Bollywood cameraman who raped struggler after promising her roles

When confronted about raping a 25-year-old struggler Swati (name changed) on the pretext of getting her a big break in TV serials, this man had brazenly said, "It is Bollywood's nature: kuchh paane ke liye kuchh khona padta hai (To win some, you got to lose some)." Ravindranath Ghosh's luck finally ran out yesterday, when the Vanrai police arrested him in Goregaon on charges of rape and blackmail.

"We have arrested Ghosh. The court has remanded him in police custody till December 30," said M B Chavan, senior inspector, Vanrai police station. MiD DAY had reported how Ghosh had promised to give the survivor a role in TV serials, demanding that she have a physical relationship with him in exchange of her big break (‘This is Bollywood: Cameraman's excuse after raping struggler, December 19).

Ravindranath Ghosh promised the aspiring actress a role and raped her several times

Blackmail
According to the complaint lodged at MIDC police station, Andheri, he took her to a lodge and allegedly raped her 15 times from April 2012. He kept forcing her into sex by threatening to send her photographs to her husband. Each time he forced himself upon her, he took pictures of her. He subsequently started blackmailing the woman for money, and sent the photographs to her spouse when she refused to comply.

The MiD DAY report on December 19

The MIDC police had registered an FIR under section 376 (rape), 384 (extortion), 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the IPC and Section 66 (E) (violation of privacy policy) of the Information Technology Act. The matter was transferred to Vanrai police station, as the crimes had taken place in their jurisdiction. "I am thankful to MiD DAY, MIDC and Vanrai police who gave me justice. I hope he will be punished hard," said Swati.

Past incidents
December 15: An assistant director of Bhojpuri films was arrested for molesting a Bhojpuri actress. The woman said that she had gone to audition when he misbehaved with her and touched her inappropriately
January 16: A 49-year-old Marathi film producer was arrested for raping a struggler on the pretext of giving her a role
October 11, 2011: A Gujarati film actress filed a complaint of molestation against a film producer and a financier after the two allegedly tried to rape her.u00a0