In a shocking incident, popular Bollywood actor Vijay Raaz was arrested on Tuesday on charges of molestation after a complaint was filed by a crew member of an upcoming Hindi film titled Sherni. Currently being short in the jungles of Balaghat, about 40 km away from Madhya Pradesh, the female crew member alleged that Raaz had molested her, with the Gondia Police in Maharashtra then making the arrest.

The Gondia Additional Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni in a statement told that the woman had filed a complaint on Monday night stating she was molested by Vijay Raaz during his stay in a hotel where the Sherni crew was also lodged. Elaborating on the arrest, the Gondia Police said that Raaz was arrested after collecting the evidence of the incident against him. Eye-witnesses from the film crew too had spoken to the police about the actor's advances towards the female crew member. A local court later granted Raaz conditional bail.

Sherni, in which Vijay Raaz has been cast in a vital supporting role, reportedly is based on the story of Pandharkawada 'problem tigress' T1, nicknamed Avni, which got shot down on November 2, 2018. Touted to be a thriller, the film has National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan in the lead role, who is playing a divisional forest officer handling the operation to catch Avni. According to reports, Vidya Balan too is taking part in the Sherni shoot at Gondia.

Vijay Raaz is known among Tamil cinema fans for starring in the Hindi version of 'Ulaganayagan' Kamal Haasan's 2005 film, Mumbai Xpress. He subsequently made a big impression more than 10 years later as the villain in Sivakarthikeyan's 2015 hit action film, Kaaki Sattai, directed by Ethir Neechal, Kodi and Pattas fame R. S. Durai Senthilkumar. Raaz has established himself as a strong acting talent in Bollywood over the years after making his debut in 1999 in the film Bhopal Express. He subsequently starred in notable films such as Jungle, Monsoon Wedding, Company, Run, Yuva, Raghu Romeo, Delhi 6, Delhi Belly, Dishoom, Kaalakaandi, Gully Boy, Dream Girl, including Gulabo Sitabo and Lootcase, earlier this year.