Filmmaker accused of raping actress

People hold candles and placards during a candle light vigil demanding punishment for six men accused of the December 16 brutal gang-rape of a young female student in New Delhi, yesterday.

Agencies/Mumbai

A film producer was arrested for allegedly raping an aspiring actress whom he had promised a role in his next movie, police said.

Ramesh Singh, 49, was detained on Tuesday after the woman complained to police in Mumbai about the alleged sexual assault, according to a police official at Oshiwara police station in the city’s north.

“He had promised her a role in his upcoming movie, so he called her to read out the script. He showed her the script and locked the room,” said the policeman on condition of anonymity.

“He told her to sit on the bed as there was a ‘bed scene’ and that’s when she got spooked. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He broke open the door and she said he then raped her.”

The Indian Express said Singh was a Marathi film maker.

Sexual crimes against women have been in the spotlight over the past month, since a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and murdered in New Delhi in a case that has shocked the nation.

Five men have been charged with abduction, rape and murder of the student. A sixth suspect is to be tried by a juvenile court if his claim to be 17 years old is verified.

Pre-trial hearings are underway and lawyers say it could take a few more days for the case to be transferred to a fast-track court for the trial.

The crime sparked nationwide protests expressing outrage over the worrying numbers of sexual assaults and calling for tougher laws to punish rapists.