Television actor Parth Samthaan has taken legal action against his male friend and TV producer Vikas Gupta, accusing him of molestation. Here are the sordid details of what seems to have happened
This week has been controversy-ridden for the television industry with two cases of alleged sexual abuse coming to the fore. While actor Mrunal Jain has been accused of luring starlet Varsha Bhagwani into a physical relationship, Parth Samthaan of 'Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan' fame has slapped a legal notice on his former mentor, producer Vikas Gupta, claiming that he tried to molest him and a host of other ‘offences’ like extortion, criminal breach of trust, cheating with knowledge, dishonest or fraudulent removal of property, lurking house-trespass by night, forgery for harming reputation, criminal intimidation and abetment to commit suicide.
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File pic of producer Vikas Gupta (left) with actor Parth Samthaan
Publicity stunt?
A source close to the producer on the condition of anonymity told us the other side of the story: “The notice was sent to Vikas Gupta on December 7. Why did Parth reveal the details about it now? This is just a publicity gimmick. He will soon be announcing his Bollywood project and this is a ploy to stay in the limelight. If he is saying that Vikas touched him inappropriately in December 2013, how did he go on a holiday with him to Goa after that?”
Blame game
It is believed that Vikas leaked details of Parth’s WhatsApp group, after he sent him the notice. Was it out of vengeance? A source close to the ex programming head of MTV says, “Why would Vikas be a part of a group like that? Parth revealing about the notice sent to Vikas reeks of revenge. In fact, Vikas called up Parth’s mother and asked why her son was maligning him. Initially, she was rude and said he deserved it. Later, she called back to apologise and claimed that it was the lawyers who did it, and not Parth.”
But other industry insiders beg to differ, arguing it could have happened the other way round: “After receiving the notice, Vikas might have looked into the WhatsApp matter, since some of his friends were apparently part of the group and they may have leaked it.”
The money trail
What about the accusation that Vikas owed Parth Rs 5.5 lakh? “Actually, it is all compensated for. Vikas normally pays money upfront. When Parth did a show for him, he was promised a certain remuneration. But, often, he wouldn’t turn up for the shoot, which led to financial losses for the producer,” informs the source.
Niti Taylor, who in one of her recent tweets, has hinted about being verbally abused by co-star Parth
Trespass blame
In his legal notice, Parth had cited an alleged trespass on his house at night by Vikas. But rising to the latter’s defence, one of his friends says, “How does visiting a friend’s house qualify as trespassing? Vikas knew Parth’s roommate well and had gone to meet them both. And that was only in the capacity of a friend.”
Walking out
The notice also mentions that Vikas forced Parth to quit Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan, but our source claims otherwise, “Vikas never wanted Parth to leave the show, because the show made him who he is today. He requested him to stay back several times, but Parth was adamant. He doesn’t have a good rapport with his co-star Niti Taylor. In fact, he has verbally abused her many times and called her despicable names. Niti has also hinted about it in one of her recent tweets.”
In the entire blame game, it is still unclear what the real truth is. And this fight is just getting uglier and can make for a spicy television soap.
We tried to get in touch with Parth, but he didn’t respond to our messages or calls. Vikas, on the other hand, says, “My lawyers have advised me not to talk to anyone right now.”
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