Key witnesses are afraid of filing, says lawyer

Mumbai: The key witnesses did not show up to register their statements in front of the police in the case of badual harbadment filed by Tanushree Dutta against veteran actor Nana His lawyer claimed that Patekar and other people had feared that the accused would be worried.

Dutta filed a complaint last October, claiming that on the set of "Horn Ok Plebadss" of 2008, Patekar had touched under the pretext of showing her dance steps, she also insisted on playing in the sequence of the song, which was supposed to be a solo show. She also named choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui and director of the film Rakesh Sarang in her complaint. On the basis of his complaint, the police had registered a complaint against them.

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In an interview with reporters on Friday night, Dutta's lawyer, Nitin Satpute, claimed that several witnesses had recorded their statements in front of the police, the main witnesses of the incident do not show up so, for fear of the accused. "The police have recorded the statements of nearly 15 witnesses, but the main eyewitnesses to the incident have not recorded their statements.They do not show up for fear of the accused because they exert a great influence ", did he declare.

Satpute said that a woman witness is not ready to support Tanushree's version because she was forced to face legal problems 10 years ago. "If the defendants are arrested, the witnesses will feel safe and will register their statements," he added. He also denied the "rumor" that the police allegedly issued a blank certificate to Patekar about the case, which would have been registered at the Oshiwara police station.

"No blank document has been given to Nana Patekar or any other accused, given orally and can only be approved by the magistrate concerned," said Satpute. "These rumors spread as the defendants stopped working in the film industry," he added.

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