Bhubaneswar: The city police on Thursday arrested an assistant director of a television serial production unit for allegedly sexually harassing and stalking a female artiste associated with the project.The accused was arrested in connection with a case lodged at Mahila police station on Aug 3. “We arrested Amlan Upadhaya after completing preliminary investigation into a complaint lodged by the victim. Further investigation is underway,” said an officer of the Mahila police station.According to the complainant, she was working in a Hindi television serial being shot on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar under Upadhaya’s supervision.In her complaint, the artiste alleged that the accused obtained her phone number and began sending her inappropriate messages on March 18. When she objected to his advances, he allegedly threatened to damage her professional prospects in the industry. “The harassment continued from March to Aug. When I repeatedly resisted his behaviour, the accused began humiliating me during the shoots, questioning my performance and competence and threatening to expel me from the project,” she said.The complainant also accused him of stalking her social media accounts, downloading her photographs and morphing them with the intention of defaming her. She alleged that he contacted various production houses and tried to prevent her from securing roles in other projects.“As the harassment intensified and began affecting both my personal and professional lives, I decided to approach the police. Despite being served notices, he failed to appear before investigators. When I learnt that he was in Pahala, I immediately informed the police, following which they arrested him,” the artiste said.Police said they are examining digital evidence submitted by the complainant and verifying the allegations as part of the ongoing investigation. “During questioning, the accused dismissed her allegations as baseless. However, we found prima facie evidence supporting her allegations against him,” said the police officer.
