Demanding a “fair probe” into the death of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee during an outdoor shoot in Talsari beach in Odisha, the West Bengal Motion Picture Artists’ Forum on Saturday lodged a police complaint against the production house Magic Moments Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd, alleging directors Saibal Banerjee and Leena Gangopadhyay of engaging in a “criminal conspiracy”.
Kolkata Police said the complaint was treated as a ‘Zero FIR’ against the serial’s producers, accusing them of conducting the shoot in a “negligent manner” that endangered human lives.
Senior forum members, including actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and the forum’s general secretary Santilal Mukherjee told a press meet outside Regent Park police station that the complaint called for a “fair and transparent probe” into the incident.
“On March 29, during the shooting of television serial Bholey Baba Par Karega at Talsari near Digha, our colleague and forum member, actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, tragically passed away due to an accidental drowning,” the forum said in a statement.
“In this regard, the forum, on behalf of its members, sought legal advice to ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. Accordingly, a formal letter was sent to the production house on April 1 seeking clarification,” the statement said.
“However, the response received on April 2 was found to be unsatisfactory and inadequate. Since then, various opinions and concerns have also been expressed on social media regarding the incident,” the forum added.
The forum also alleged that the production house may have been filming without the necessary official permits, raising serious questions about the oversight of the project and that it allegedly provided false statements regarding the circumstances that led to the actor’s death.
According to police, the document will be transferred to the Talsari Marine Police Station for formal investigation into the charges.
“We are seeking answers. How and why did this happen? We cannot let the safety of our artists be compromised by such blatant negligence,” the forum said.
Banerjee’s wife, Priyanka Sarkar also approached the police with the forum members.
Meanwhile, several members of the Bengali film industry held a procession from the Technicians’ Studio to Radha Studio, a distance of around 1km, carrying placards reading “Justice for Rahul”.
The rally was led by several known faces of the industry, including actor-director Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt, director Srijit Mukherjee, Kaushik Ganguly, actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee, actor Rudranil Ghosh, actor Riddhi Sen, actor-theatre personality Kaushik Sen, among others.
The rally was supported by technician federation director Swarup Biswas.