Television actor Pearl V Puri, who was a part of the hit supernatural series ‘Naagin’, has been accused of rape by a 17-year-old. The actor was arrested and charged under Section 376 (rape) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act(POCSO) Act, 2012.

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The accusations against Puri are extremely serious, however, he isn’t the first actor who has been accused of rape. With the #MeToo movement and better awareness, more and more women have come forward to speak up about the assault they were allegedly subjected to by these men of Bollywood:

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1)     Shiny Ahuja

The actor had a great start to his career but is now far removed from the Bollywood landscape. In 2009, Ahuja was accused of rape by his 20-year-old maid, who worked at his Mumbai residence.

The actor was arrested and booked for rape (Section 376), wrongful restraint (Section 346) and threat to kill (Section 506) and was later sentenced to seven years in prison.

2)     Alok Nath

When, in 2019, actor Tanushree Dutta accused her fellow actor Nana Patekar of sexual assault, it opened a floodgate of Me Too allegations in the Indian entertainment industry. One of the high-profile celebrities, who was accused of rape and sexual assault was actor Alok Nath.

In a long Facebook post, writer-producer Vinta Nanda had accused Nath of rape and later filed a police complaint. Later, actors such as Sandhya Mridul and Navneet Nishan came forward in Nanda’s support and shared their experiences of working with Nath.

3)     Ankit Tiwari

Singer-composer Ankit Tiwari, who rose to fame with the 2013-hit album of ‘Aashiqui 2’, was in 2014 arrested for allegedly raping a woman in her 20s. She accused Tiwari of raping her on the pretext of marriage and his brother of threatening her if she filed a police complaint. In 2017, the duo was acquitted of the charges by a special women’s court.

4)     Aditya Pancholi

Actor Aditya Pancholi was accused of rape by the 15-year-old maid of his ex-girlfriend Pooja Bedi.

5)     Mahmood Farooqui

Director Mahmood Farooqui, known for 2010 satire-comedy Peepli Live, was accused of rape in 2015 by an American researcher. Initially pronounced guilty by a trial court, Farooqui was acquitted of charges by the Delhi High Court.

6)     Madhur Bhandarkar

Director Madhur Bhandarkar is known for bringing to the screen the brutal realities of the acting and fashion industries. The ‘Fashion’ director was accused of rape by a model. She accused Bhandarkar of raping her for three years on the pretext of casting her in a film. After going on for nine years, the case was closed by the Supreme Court in 2012 after the woman said she did not want to pursue it further.

7)     Karim Morani

The veteran producer, known for films like Chennai Express and Ra One, was accused of raping a Delhi-based student. As per the latest report, Morani was granted bail by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court.

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