The Mumbai Police on Saturday requested a woman to file a complaint against comedian Utsav Chakraborty so that a legal action can be initiated against him.
A woman on Thursday accused Chakraborty of sending sexually explicit images to her and others, including at least one minor girl, on social media. The Twitter user, who made the allegations, started a thread condemning Utsav Chakraborty’s sexual misconduct with women.
Responding to the thread, the Mumbai Police on Saturday tweeted, "Hello, We have been waiting to hear from you since last two days. Please understand that till the time you lodge a complaint, we cannot initiate legal action. Request you to do the same or reply to us on DM to let us know if you need any assistance."
The woman, who first recounted how Utsav sent her sexually explicit message, later shared stories of other women who accused the comedian of similar advances. The comedian, who also worked with comedy collective AIB, has also been accused of asking minors to send ‘nudes’.
While he apologised for his behaviour, Chakraborty has denied the allegations that he had sent any images to minors.
In its first statement on Thursday, AIB said Chakraborty was a former employee and did not say if anyone at the organisation knew of the allegations against him. AIB issued another statement on Friday and admitted that one of its co-founders, Tanmay Bhat, had known of the incident involving Chakraborty, but chose to remain quiet.
"We messed up. Since yesterday we've been trying to introspect and process what we did wrong, and everything that came up during our conversations all feel like excuses in hindsight and fact of the matter is that we messed up," it said.
Chakraborty apologised for his behaviour on Friday and said, "It's a little too late now but I am sorry. I really am. The past 24 hours were a crucible. I faced a very scary personal truth. I can't think of myself as a victim anymore. Please tell me what to do now. How to make things right? I don't want anyone to be hurt anymore."
