Odia Actress Usasi Misra Alleges Molestation and Manhandling

Popular Odia actress, Usasi Misra, has claimed that she was allegedly manhandled and molested by three men in Odisha's Derang village of Angul district. The incident happened when she was on her way to a performance on Sunday night. Further, she has lodged a complaint with the Kanhia police station in this regard. In her complaint, she mentions that the incident happened when she and her managers were on their way to the venue. The persons allegedly behaved in an indecent manner and used improper language. They also damaged the car in which she was travelling.

The police has said that a man and his two sons are the accused in this case. An investigation is currently going on.

 "We talk about general women being safe... where a media figure like me is not safe... this man manhandled, bad mouthed me and tried to rip my clothes. I gave a good fight and saved myself"

“I shudder to think how the three men were on top of me and trying to rip off my cloth. The entire thing happened between 11.45 to midnight. Strict action should be taken against the attackers. I was able to save myself just because I know Taekwondo or I could have been killed,” Usasi said, as reported by Odisha TV.

She also pointed out how women safety is still a big issue in India. "We talk about general women being safe... where a media figure like me is not safe... this man manhandled, bad mouthed me and tried to rip my clothes. I gave a good fight and saved myself", she said as reported by Business Standard.

Misra also claimed that when she was on stage, the man returned with more people and tried to stop the performance. As a result, the performance got delayed by an hour as police intervened to control the issue.

Usasi Misra made her debut in Odisha films in 1996 with the film Yashoda. Her breakthrough in the industry came with Sabyasachi Mohapatra’s film Bou (Mother) in 2000. She has acted in approximately more than 30 films, four Bengali, two Telugu and a Chhattishgari film, besides numerous TV soaps and Music video albums. She was seen in a Television serial “Swabhiman”.

Other such cases

In December last year, Dangal actress Zaira Wasim was allegedly molested in a flight. The accused man was booked for assault on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. He was also booked for relevant sections of the POSCO act since the actress is a minor.

Another incident which came to light last year was the molestation of a Malayalam actress by fellow actor Dileep. The actress, who has worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, was kidnapped and molested in a moving car while she was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi. Dileep was subsequently arrested by the police.

Read: Zeenat Aman Files Molestation Case Against Businessman

Nimisha is an intern with SheThePeople.TV