Director Sajid Khan, named in #MeToo, faces fresh sexual harassment charge

Bollywood filmmaker Sajid Khan has been accused with fresh sexual misconduct charges. A model has claimed that Sajid Khan tried to touch her inappropriately and also asked her to strip before him.

On Friday, the hashtag #ArrestSajidKhan started trending on Twitter following the latest MeToo claim against Khan.

The allegations have been posted on an unverified Instagram account of one Dimple Paul, with the handle paulaa__official.

"When the #MeToo movement started, a lot of people spoke about Sajid Khan but I did not dare to because like every other actor who has no godfather and had to earn for a family, I kept quiet. Now I don't have my parents with me. I'm earning for myself. I can dare to tell that I have been harassed by Sajid Khan at the age of 17," she stated.

She went on to narrate the incident, saying it happened during an audition. "He spoke dirty to me. He tried to touch me. He even told me to strip in front of him just to get a role in his upcoming Housefull movie," she shared.

Concluding her post, Dimple added: "God knows with how many girls he has done this. I am coming out now not for any pity party. It's just that I realised that had affected me so bad when I was a child and chose not to speak. But it's high time, no? These B**t*rds should be behind bars not only for casting couch but also for manipulating and for stealing away your dreams. I did not stop!! But the wrong I did was not to speak about it!"

While posting the note, Dimple put a caption: "Before democracy dies and there is no freedom of speech anymore, I thought I should speak!"

Back in 2018, multiple women had come out to share their #MeToo experiences against Sajid Khan, following which he stepped down as director of Housefull 4, which was released last year.

Sajid has been named by multiple women including two actresses — Sonali Chopra and Rachel White — and one journalist for sexual misconduct. He has been called out not just for harassment but also for allegedly flashing women.

In response, Sajid had tweeted back then: "In the wake of the allegations against me and the pressure being put on my family, my producer and the stars of my film Housefull 4, I must take the moral responsibility of stepping down from my directorial post, till the time I can allay the allegations and prove the truth... I request my friends in the media to kindly not pass judgment till the truth is out."

Since then, the director has remained silent about the accusations. He is yet to respond to the latest allegation.