Indian actress accuses UAE resident of online harassment

When contacted by Khaleej Times, the man denied the allegation, claiming his WhatsApp was hacked.

An Indian actress has accused an Abu Dhabi resident of online sexual harassment, claiming he sent her an indecent message on WhatsApp. Neha Saxena, who has acted in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam movies, told Khaleej Times that she has reported the matter to the UAE authorities after the man refused to apologise.
"I am an actress, not a call girl. I come from a middle class family and have worked hard to get where I am. I have filed a police complaint and want to bring him to book," said Neha over the phone from India.
When contacted by Khaleej Times, the man, EL, denied the allegation, claiming his WhatsApp was hacked.
After the alleged incident on November 20, Neha named and shamed the man on her social media platforms by sharing the screenshots of the WhatsApp message, which shows the sender asking her public relations (PR) manager whether the actress was "available for a one-night stand in Dubai".
"When my PR manager tried to reach him on the number, he blocked us. When I traced him on Facebook, he deleted his account. He is claiming that his WhatsApp got hacked, which obviously is not true," said Saxena.
"Now his phone is switched off ... He lives with his parents and surprisingly even they are believing that their son's phone was hacked," Saxena wrote in her Facebook post. "I won't sit quietly till I receive a handwritten apology letter from this shameless man."
EL said he would take the actress to court for "maligning" his reputation. "She wants an apology. How can I apologise for something I have not done? My WhatsApp got hacked on the night she received the message, and the very next day, I filed a complaint with the Abu Dhabi Police about it."
The businessman's father said the family would "deal with this legally". "Our family is getting harassed by the actress' fans and friends. People are calling on his number and sending abusive messages."
anjana@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Abu Dhabi