BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Tuesday condemned the alleged attack on renowned singer Sonu Nigam and blamed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction for the incident, describing it as “Gundon ki Sena (mob of criminals)”.
Taking to Twitter, the BJP spokesperson called it "shameful" and said it wasn't the first time such an incident came to the fore.
“Famous singer #SonuNigam reportedly attacked by #UddhavThackeray‘s MLA Prakash Phaterpekar’s son and his men ! THIS HAS BECOME A GUNDON KI SENA. Not the first time such an incident has come to the fore! Earlier a veteran was beaten up! SHAMEFUL ! Will UT faction condemn it?” he tweeted.
Poonawalla's reaction comes a day after Sona Nigam and his two colleagues were manhandled at an event at Chembur Gymkhana in Mumbai allegedly over a selfie. A video of the incident was doing rounds on social media platforms.
{{/usCountry}}Poonawalla's reaction comes a day after Sona Nigam and his two colleagues were manhandled at an event at Chembur Gymkhana in Mumbai allegedly over a selfie. A video of the incident was doing rounds on social media platforms.
{{/usCountry}}“The true face of the Uddhav Sena…has come to the fore… This shows the sense of arrogance, entitlement and also the violent ways pursued by Uddhav faction,” the BJP spokesperson said in a video statement in his tweet.
He also called one of the accused persons – who happened to be the son of Sena leader Prakash Phaterpeka – of being a “serial offender” of violence.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi earlier told ANI that the MLA's son tried to reach out to Sonu Nigam after his performance for a selfie, but the singer's bodyguard stopped him not knowing his identity.
Following the incident, Sonu Nigam reached Chembur police station, and officials were in the process to record his statement.
As per the complaint, as news agency PTI reported, Nigam's colleague Hari Prakash tried to stop the accused and took him aside. However, the accused allegedly manhandled Prakash due to which he fell down from the stage. The accused also allegedly pushed Nigam due to which he also fell on the stairs. Another colleague of Sonu Nigam, Rabbani Khan, tried to help him but the accused allegedly manhandled him, causing him to fall as well, according to the complaint.
The support staff present near the stage then came forward and stopped the accused, an official from Chembur police station told the agency. Khan, who received injuries, was taken to a private hospital in Chembur, he said.