Police drop case that triggered India’s #Metoo movement

MUMBAI: Indian police said on Thursday they had no evidence to support the allegations of sexual harassment made by an actress against a Bollywood star last year that sparked the country’s #MeToo movement.

The case against multiple-award-winning actor Nana Patekar -- one of the few #MeToo cases in India to have been investigated by police -- was now closed, they said. "There was no evidence that we could find against the accused," Mumbai police senior inspector Shailesh Pasalwar told AFP.

Former Miss Universe contestant Tanushree Dutta first alleged in 2008 that Patekar had touched her inappropriately during the making of a romantic comedy the same year. She made no formal complaint at the time and no action was taken against Patekar, who has repeatedly denied the accusations.

But, emboldened by the global #MeToo campaign, Dutta repeated the allegations in an interview last summer and in October went to police in Mumbai to report the claim.