20 April,2011 06:02 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Police refuse to divulge names of actresses involved; citizens allege cops hushing up matter
Even as the city seethes at its tyros from the film and television industry, for purportedly outraging its modesty, the rankling question on everyone's mind is, who were the actresses involved in the garish spectacle?
In the eye of the storm: Marathi film and television actress Sai
Tamhankar has denied that she was among the revellers at the party.
File pic
Also in the line of ire of its "modest" and "culture-adhering" citizens are its law enforcers, whose alleged impotency and furtive actions have left most ranting.
What happened?
At three in the morning a passer-by, identified only as Shedge, descried some four young men teasing a skimpily clad woman on the Mehendale Garage road. All of them were allegedly inebriated.u00a0Shedge tried to intervene and stop the theatrics, but was abused by the men. So, he called the police control room and asked for help.
The police arrested the eight men, but failed to take into custody the woman and three others in the flat, later learnt to be actresses working in Marathi films and television serials. The police refused to divulge the name of any of the woman.
Who was she?
Marathi cinema loyalists are so vexed with the incident that some like Ram Zond have even compared the skimpily clad woman to Poonam Pandey ufffd who wanted to strip for the Indian cricketers after the World Cup victory ufffd and said the incident was a blot on the modest and cultured image of the city.
He demanded that an inquiry be instituted to find out who were the three women in the flat. "Who were these women? Actresses or sex workers? We need to know their names," Zond said. "The police are hushing up the investigations because these youngsters are from elite families. Why is the city police commissioner not yet able to give us a satisfactory answer regarding the Kothrud police not having woman constables in the night shift to arrest the women?"
Netas jump into fray
And if the populace squirms, can the politicos be far behind? At least four local political party leaders have threatened to agitate before the police station, if the guilty were not given the condign punishment. Shyam Deshpande, Shiv Sena group leader, PMC, Mukta Tilak BJP group leader, PMC, Kamal Vyavahare, president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and Prakash Dhore, city president of MNS have all condemned the incident and asked for an immediate action against the irresponsible artistes.
"This is an insult to law, if the police are not taking any action," Tilak said.Deshpande said even the women in the party were involved in the midemeanour and creating a ruckus was not acceptable.
Not present: Sai
Even as the early reports suggested that Sai Tamhankar, a familiar face in serials for her bold roles and rising hemlines, was present at the party, the actress has vehemently denied any involvement. Originally from Sangli, and now stabled in Mumbai, Puneites want to know what was she doing at a party in the city in the
wee hours.u00a0
Tamhankar said she was from a good and respectable family and was not connected with the incident. "These are sheer rumors and there is no truth in it," she said. When MiD DAY contacted Tamhankar, she attended the call and promised she would get back to us. She was unreachable after that.
No investigations
Police Inspector Chandrakant Ghodke of Kothrud police station said the case was closed. "Now the issue is over and no further investigations will be made," he said. He also ruled out any kind of pressure to stop the investigations and said the incident was not serious. Earlier, the police booked eight men under section 112 and 117 of the Bombay Police Act for creating nuisance in a public place. They were then released on bail.
