Tanushree Dutta wrote to CINTAA to seek help in her fight against Nana Patekar

Mumbai: Tanushree Dutta had lodged a complaint with the Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) a decade ago against actor Nana Patekar. She had accused him of harassment on the sets of the film 'Horn OK Pleassss' while she was shooting an item song but Patekar has denied all allegations.

In the copy of complaint dated March 27, 2008, exclusively accessed by Sonal Singh of Zee News, Tanushree had described the entire incident. She had even alleged that the organisation did not pay heed to her complaint back then.

Take a look at the copy of the letter here:

In a fresh statement issued on Tuesday, CINTAA said it "strongly condemns any act that outrages the modesty of any individual and any form of sexual harassment is unacceptable to us." 

"After going through Ms Tanushree Dutta's complaint, which was filed with the then Executive Committee of CINTAA in March 2008, we feel that the decision taken in the Joint Dispute Settlement Committee of CINTAA & IFTPC (then known as AMPTPP) in July 2008 was not appropriate, as the chief grievance of sexual harassment wasn't even addressed."

The organisation said even though it was a different Executive Committee back then, CINTAA finds it "highly regrettable and no apologies can suffice, hence we must resolve today to never allow such lapses to occur again". 

"CINTAA stands strongly for the dignity and self respect of its members. Sexual harassment is a serious criminal offence, unfortunately CINTAA's Constitution bars us from taking up any case which is more than three years old.

"Hence we appeal to the authorities to take cognisance of Ms Dutta's statements and conduct an impartial and speedy enquiry so that truth and justice may prevail. We also appeal to all our members to report any such incidents to us immediately. We are duty bound to give them our complete moral and legal support to ensure just and safe working conditions," the statement further read.

A number of actors like Farhan Akhtar, Swara Bhasker and Richa Chadha have come out in support of Tanushree and have spoken about creating a loud noise against sexual misconduct.

(With PTI inputs)