BENGALURU: Rajajinagar police arrested a 33-year-old film actor-cum-director on Sunday for allegedly sexually harassing a 29-year-old actress.
The accused has been identified as BI Hemanth Kumar of Health Layout, II Stage, Nagarabhavi. He was remanded in judicial custody.
The victim, a resident of Rajajinagar, filed a complaint on Saturday alleging that Hemanth offered her a lead role in his movie in 2022 for Rs 2 lakh as remuneration and allegedly misbehaved with her during shooting.
She alleged that he spiked her drink during a promotional event in Mumbai in 2023 and filmed her in an inebriated state. Later, he started blackmailing her with the video.
In 2022, Hemanth introduced himself as a producer and associate director and offered her the lead role in his film "Richie."
Though she signed an agreement on April 30, 2022, Hemanth did not start shooting as promised. Later during shooting, he allegedly harassed her demanding that she dress indecently for the role and also touched her in an objectionable and inappropriate manner.