Chennai actor accuses senior journalist of sexually harassment, shares ordeal on FB

Chennai: Renowned Tamil Nadu actor Gayatri Sai recently went live on Facebook to expose senior journalist Prakash M Swamy, who she claims has been sexually harassing and physically abusing her over the last two years. The 42-year-old actor also sought action against him.

Sai said she went up to police to file a case but they refused to file an FIR and instead they just registered Community Service Register (CSR), the picture of which she posted on her Facebook.

After repeated visits to police station and pleading before them to file a case, the police asked the actor to go to the Commissioner of Police to file the case.

The actor, in an eight-minute video, which went viral soon after, narrates the nightmare she went through, alleging that journalist, Swamy, targeted her after the death of her husband in Hong Kong, in the pretext of helping her in sorting an issue with her son's passport.

In the video, the Chennai based actor said that the journalist sat next to her at her house and misbehaved. "I had to literally show him the door," she added.

The actor went on to claim that harassment continued via phone and internet and that the journalist started sending her derogatory WhatsApp messages, threatening to defame her.

"He spread false stories that I killed my husband, who died of a massive heart attack. He even got a cheap baseless story on me published in a local magazine," alleged the actor.

She even said that her daughter was also defamed by the journalist and with the help of her daughter she mustered courage to post the ill-deeds of the journalist on social media.

Sai said she even went to the court but hearing has not been taken you till date.

The actor has further alleged that the journalist has over the course of years harassed many women, showing them pictures of him with top leaders and ministers so that people get intimidated by his stature.

"People believe he can get things done. He manipulates. He has to be punished," the actor demanded.

Click here to watch the video.

Swamy, who was based in the United States for a long time denied the allegations. Confirming that he did try to help Sai over a passport issue, he told NDTV, "I never visited her house nor did I sexually harass her. Even for argument's sake had I visited her, why did she keep quiet for so long?"

Swamy had been to jail for a month in connection with the Sahara case.