Actress Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal levelled mental and sexual harassment charges against the producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Asit Kumar Modi and two other members of the production.

Having started airing in 2008, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is one of the longest-running sitcoms in Indian television history. Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal, who plays the character of Mrs Roshan Sodhi, quit the show after 15 years. The actress said that she quit the show after being subjected to humiliation.

Talking E-Times, Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal said, “I shot my last episode of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah on March 6 this year. I had to leave the sets as I was subjected to humiliation and insult at the hands of Mr Sohail Ramani and the other executive producer Jatin Bajaj.”

Jennifer Mistry claimed that Mr Modi sexually harassed her on multiple occasions over the last few years. “He would pass uncharitable comments but I ignored them. In March 2019, in Singapore, he said many things like, ‘Come to my room, let’s have whisky’. I kept quiet but shared these things with two of my colleagues. They would often shield me. They are still working on the show, so they can’t do much,” she told PTI.

“Actress from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has filed a written complaint against a producer alleging sexual harassment. According to her complaint, producer Asit Modi and some crew members sexually harassed her. However, an FIR has yet to be registered. We have started an inquiry, and soon the statement of the people related to this matter will be recorded: the Mumbai Police told ANI.

Asit Kumar Modi spoke about sexual harassment allegations and said that the actress was trying to malign him and the show. “We will take legal action as she is trying to defame me and the show both, since we terminated her services, she is making these baseless allegations,” ANI quoted the producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah as saying.

Asit Kumar Modi also claimed that she was removed from the show due to misbehaviour. “We were shooting on March 7 on Holi. Something happened and she misbehaved. We incurred a financial loss. The director and the production team said they will not work with her as she misbehaved and abused them. They decided to remove her from the show. I was in the US when this incident happened. Once we removed her from the show, she started levelling allegations against us.” Jennifer also alleged that Ramani and Bajaj misbehaved with her on the sets of the show on March 7. In a joint statement, Ramani and Bajaj said, “We had to terminate her contract because of her bad behaviour and indiscipline during the shoot. During this incident, Asit ji was in the US. She is now trying to defame us and the show by making baseless allegations. We have already filed our complaint against these baseless allegations with the concerned authorities.”