Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani has reportedly filed a police complaint against a 23-year-old television journalist in Mumbai, alleging harassment, intimidation and breach of privacy.
According to The Quint, the reporter works for Mirror Now, a recently-launched television news channel, and had approached Nihalani for a response after the channel managed to get the required number of votes he sought to allow the word ‘intercourse’ in the film Jab Harry Met Sejal.
In his complaint filed at the Girgaum Police Station, Nihalani alleged that the reporter had been chasing him with her camera and pretty much stayed in his office for a long time. “She has been continuously harassing me in my office building premises, exceeding all levels of courteous behaviour, and bullying the security guards and office staff into letting her enter my office. She is intruding into my privacy by showing my footage. Whenever she sees me, she enters into the lift with me and switches on her camera and continuously pesters me to speak while I choose to remain silent. She portrays me in a derogatory and humiliating manner on television and is blotting my image” he said in his complaint.
However, according to an India Today report, the editor of the channel has accused the CBFC chief of grabbing the reporter by the arm and intimidating her in his office.
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“A reporter asking questions doesn’t amount to harassing. If Mr. Nihalani thinks that by filing a complaint against the reporter he can intimidate her or the channel, he is mistaken. Using such tactics is laughable. We will be putting out the whole video shortly. It was Mr. Pahlaj Nihalani who went on the offensive. He intimidated the 23-year-old reporter and not the other way round. He grabbed her by the arm, waved his fingers at her and misbehaved,” said Faye D’Souza, the editor of the channel to The Quint.
Feature Image: Express photo by Prashant Nadkar