Accused of Sexual Harassment, Abhijeet Bhattacharya Says 'Old, Unsuccessful Women Making up Stories'

Allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against actors Nana Patekar and Alok Nath, and director Vikas Bahl have triggered many similar accusations against several men in Bollywood, journalism and politics, giving a belated rise to #MeToo movement in India.

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya is the latest celebrity to face sexual harassment allegations. A flight attendant on Tuesday accused him of making inappropriate sexual advances towards her.

In a long post shared on Facebook, the woman alleged that 20 years ago, the Bollywood playback singer “grabbed me by wrist and pulled me closer for refusing to dance or get intimate with him.”

She further claimed that when she turned down his advances, the singer screamed in her ear, “What do you think of yourself? Wait, till I teach you a lesson,” before almost “kissing and nibbling on my left ear.”

When News18 contacted Abhijeet for his comment, he laughed off the accusations.

“I don’t even know them. I never went to any pub or a disc in my life. I can’t remember whether I was even born in 1998,” he quipped.

When asked about his reaction on the allegations against fellow colleague Kailash Kher, he said, “I don’t care neither I want to know. All these (women) are retired and aged people. Those who have never seen success in their lives and are supposed to be husband beater, men beater and most frustrated person, they are making up such stories.”

In 2015, Abhijeet was accused of abusing and molesting a 34-year-old woman. According to media reports, the incident had happened at the Lokhandwala Durga Puja pandal of which Bhattacharya was one of the organisers. Reportedly, the victim had come there to watch Kailash Kher's performance. Bhattacharya had denied all the allegations at the time.