Mumbai, Jan 16 (Mid-day) : A 49-year-old Marathi film producer was arrested yesterday evening for allegedly raping a struggling actress.

According to Oshiwara Police, the accused Ramesh Singh is a resident of Kandivli (East) and had promised a 33-year-old woman a lead role in his upcoming film.

Ramesh Singh had lured the actress to Dahisar and raped her. Singh was arrested by the Oshiwara police yesterday

The woman, a native of Pune, stays alone in Goregaon and had met Singh through a model co-ordinator. On Saturday afternoon, Singh called the woman to a mall in Oshiwara. They had lunch together and the accused told the victim that he wanted to finalise her contract and give her the signing amount.

He added that the financer was in Dahisar and he promised to drop her back after the deal was done. “Singh allegedly raped the woman after taking her to a guest house in Dahisar,” said PSI Vijayanand Patil, Oshiwara police station. The victim, who was threatened with dire consequences if she complained, left from the guesthouse and went back to her apartment. On Sunday she called her parents in Pune and told them what had transpired the day before.

Her parents guided her to lodge a complaint at the nearest police station. Overcoming her fear, she approached the Aarey Milk Colony police station on Monday to register her complaint against Singh. The case was transferred to Oshiwara police station as Singh had picked up the woman from the area. Yesterday, the officers from the Oshiwara police station arrested Singh from his house. He will be produced before the court today.