The Me Too movement that gained prominence only a year ago in India has given courage to many women to expose men in power who had exploited them and destroyed their lives over the years. One of India's leading heroines has given a statement to the police that details her painful ordeal at the hands of the hero much older than her.

The victim has stated That year, I met Aditya Pancholi, who was then 38 years old, almost 22 years older than me. I used to stay at a hostel with group of girls while he was married and had two children; his daughter was my age then... In 2004, I went to a party with him. Sometime after having a drink, I started feeling dizzy. I suspected then that he [Pancholi] had spiked my drink. After the party got over, Pancholi said he will drop me home. So I went with him in his Range Rover car. He stopped it in the middle of Yari Road and started getting forcefully physical with me. He also took photographs, which I wasn't aware of....When we met the next time, he said we now share a relationship like the one between a husband and wife and we will live that way. I told him he was my father's age and I want to marry someone who is as old as me. Then, he showed me all the photographs he'd taken of me inside his car and started blackmailing me. He threatened to show these pictures to others. At the time, I was quite young, I had no one in Mumbai and he took advantage of that...

The talented actress has then added He used to take my photos to blackmail and threaten me. Once, I was going to file a complaint against him, but he stopped my autorickshaw and beat me up; I was rescued by a pedestrian who saw me getting thrashed. At the time, I met and informed senior police officer Bipin Bihari about the incident and between 2004 to 2005, I shifted to Pallavi Apartment with my aunt. Pancholi would come to that flat all the time with his friends and get forcefully physical with me. Every time, he would carry some medicine to spike my drinks. I used to feel dizzy after having them. He locked me in whenever he left my apartment. He would also assault me. He would give me drugs and click my photos; at the time, he used to get MDMA and ecstasy....Fed up with him, in 2006-2007, I bought a flat in Versova and started living alone. Pancholi came there, made duplicate keys and trespassed into my house and assaulted me. He started breaking everything inside my house and screamed in a completely drunken state. He took all of my keys and left after locking me inside.

The two time National Award winner continues on the shocker. Between 2008 and 2009, I shifted to Bandra. My sister, who was unwell then, came to my house and we were living together. When I was away at a shoot, he came to my house and beat up my sister. When I returned home, I saw my sister was shivering and completely scared. I asked her what happened and she told me about how Pancholi had beaten her up. Then, I called him up to ask why he was troubling us, to which he started demanding money from me, saying that [I should pay] whatever he has spent on me. He asked for Rs 1 crore. In fact, I paid Rs 50 lakh and he stopped troubling us for a bit...Once I got famous and people began recognising me, Pancholi once again started demanding money by blackmailing me with the photographs. I have the threatening messages he sent to my sister and brother. Pancholi kept threatening to send the photos to my friends, family and relatives to destroy my career.

According to India Today, the Versova Police registered an FIR against Pancholi under sections 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc. with intent to commit an offence), 384 (extortion), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC on Friday (June 28). The Dindoshi sessions court on Tuesday granted Pancholi bail till July 19th and has been asked to go to the Versova Police Station every Wednesday and Saturday, and co-operate with the interrogation.