MUMBAI: The Indian actress whose public allegations of sexual harassment by a Bollywood star is sparking a string of similar #MeToo claims has filed a formal complaint, police told AFP on Sunday.

Former Miss Universe contestant Tanushree Dutta first alleged in 2008 that multi-award-winning Nana Patekar behaved inappropriately towards her during the making of a romantic comedy the same year.

No action was taken at the time against Patekar and she made no formal complaint.

But emboldened by the global #MeToo campaign — where women have shared accounts of harassment or assault — Dutta repeated the allegations in a recent interview and on Saturday went to the police to officially report the 2008 sexual harrassment claims.

“Dutta visited the police station last night and submitted a written complaint,” said Shailesh Pasalwar, a Mumbai police inspector.

“We are investigating the case but right now, it is not an FIR [First Information Report, or a formal investigation] but a written complaint about harassment incident,” he added.

The actress said in a statement last week that she had received legal notices from both Patekar and Agnihotri, who deny her accusations.

Dutta said she had also received “violent threats” from the fringe, far-right nationalist group Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and has been hounded by a “smear campaign” on social media since reiterating her claims against the pair.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018