Deepali Sayed: Women should retaliate without fear

Marathi actress Deepali Sayed, known for films like 'Chashme Bahaddar', 'Lagnacha Dhumdhadaka' and 'Jau Tithe Khau', has been in the news after receiving rape and death threats from an Ahmednagar-based youth. After Deepali lodged a complaint with the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai, the accused was arrested by the police.
Speaking about the incident, Deepali says, “This person had met me during a rally in Ahmednagar last year and had taken my number then.Later, he started calling and sending messages repeatedly, following which I blocked him. Recently, he called me again and I realized a little later that it was the same person. He wanted to call me for an event but when I quoted the fee I charge, he started abusing and threatening me. My brother tried to talk to him, but he abused him too.” Deepali says she warned him that she would lodge a police complaint, but the person went on to issue a rape and death threat to her. “He even threatened to falsely implicate me in drug cases. Having had enough, I lodged a complaint against him,” shares the actress.
The actress says that women face such problems regularly. Urging women to not neglect any such wrongdoing, the actress adds, “Many women face such things daily, but keep quiet fearing the reaction from society. People also try to justify the perpetrators’ behavior as ‘jawani ka josh’. But this is simply not done! I want to tell every woman out there that if someone behaves or says anything wrong to you, don’t hesitate to approach the police. It’s high time such behaviour be dealt with.”
The accused, one Sandeep Wagh, was arrested on Sunday and produced before court later. R Jadhav, Police Sub Inspector, Oshiwara Police Station, Mumbai said, "After receiving the complaint, we learnt that the accused, Sandeep Wagh, was planning to flee the city. However, timely action helped us nab him. After producing him before the court, he was remanded to police custody for two days. The accused is an unemployed youth."