Lock Upp's Akanksha Choudhary alleges pageant judge offered money in exchange for sex: 'He grabbed me'

Akanksha Choudhary (Pic/Instagram)

Netflix's Lock Upp witnessed an emotional moment as it inches closer to the finale, with Akanksha Choudhary getting eliminated. However, before exiting the show, she decided to open up about a deeply personal experience, revealing that she had allegedly faced the casting couch early in her career after approaching an influential man for financial help.

Akanksha Choudhary recalls facing the casting couch

Recalling the ordeal, Akanksha revealed, "I was about to take part in a pageant, and to participate in it, I needed around Rs 1-2 lakh to buy garments, pay training fees, and other expenses. My parents couldn't afford it at that time. Then I knew a very influential person who used to come as a judge for pageant events, and I reached out to him for help. I asked him if he could help me financially for two months. I offered to work off the debt by helping him in his line of work.

She added, "He didn't hesitate and offered to help me and asked me to meet him at his place. So I went there. I had been to events before with my mentors and others. When I went there, he came forward to hug me. But then, he didn't hug me; rather, he pushed me. And he grabbed me. After that, he didn't take his hand off me. He was a very old man, so I grabbed his hand and pushed him away."

Akanksha further claimed that the man told her she could have achieved much greater success had she approached him earlier.

The model then alleged that the influential person made a shocking proposition. According to Akanksha, he told her, "Main tumhe itne paise de raha hoon, but in return, you'll have to have sex with me. He had the whole timeline planned out that you would have to do it 5-6 times." When Akanksha claimed that she refused his demands, the man allegedly told her that she was stuck in old ways of thinking. However, six months later, she was a part of a big show."

When Akanksha claimed Yogesh was suicidal

Lock Upp saw an explosive fight between Akanksha Choudhary and Suzanne after remarks about Yogesh Rawat. Akanksha claimed, "He was suicidal," urging contestants to avoid insensitive comments about mental health.