CINTAA expels Alok Nath from organisation following sexual harassment, rape allegations

The Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) has expelled actor Alok Nath from the organisation after he was accused of sexual harassment and violation by writer-director Vinta Nanda in October.CINTAA had called both Nanda and Nath for a meeting on 12 November but he failed to show up citing health issues.  The association then released a statement on Tuesday, noting that they had removed him from CINTAA "after due diligence and consideration," reports Indian Express.[caption id="attachment_5357241" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Alok Nath. Image from Twitter[/caption]

Nanda, best known for writing and producing the popular TV show Tara, gave a detailed account of the alleged assaults in a lengthy Facebook post. Speaking to Firstpost, Nanda recalled the environment around which the incident with Alok Nath happened almost two decades ago. The norm was to stay silent and normalise this behaviour. Nanda spoke up about her mental trauma which forced her to drink irresponsibly and dabble in drugs up until 2008, and how she finally found her voice back as a writer with social media.Nanda alleged that Nath sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion after he was fired from the 1993 show for misbehaving with its lead actor, Navneet Nishan. Nishan supported Nanda's allegations against Nath while confirming the harassment she faced at the hands of the actor. Stating that she supports every woman or man who is standing up for themselves in the #MeToo movement, she said, "I dealt with the four-year harassment by slapping the man in question, and it is done and dusted. l suffered the loss of the show and was further shamed by the man through media and I endured that."Actor Sushant Singh of Cine and TV Artiste’s Association (CINTAA) condemned Nath's actions and extended their support to Nanda.