E-Paper
Telugu reality TV star objects to lewd remark, ‘hit’ by TRS MLA’s brother
Rahul Sipligunj shot to fame by winning Bigg Boss Telugu season-3 trophy in 2019 and has delivered several hit numbers in Telugu films of late.
Seven people including the brother of a TRS MLA have been booked for alleged assault on TV reality show Bigg Boss winner and popular Telugu playback singer Rahul Sipligunj on Thursday, said police.
P Ritesh Reddy, the brother of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) lawmaker P Rohit Reddy and six others were booked for allegedly attacking Sipligunj with beer bottles at a pub in upscale Gachibowli area on Wednesday night. Sipligunj shot to fame by winning Bigg Boss Telugu season-3 trophy in 2019 and has delivered several hit numbers in Telugu films of late.
Gachibowli inspector of police R Srinivas said a case under Section 324 (Voluntarily causing injuries to a person with dangerous weapons and means), was registered following a complaint from the management of the pub.
P Rohit Reddy was elected on the Congress ticket in December 2018 elections but defected to the TRS later.
Sipligunj, who sustained injuries on his face, also filed a separate complaint with the police on Thursday afternoon. Two video clips – one showing two groups involved in heated arguments and another one showing the singer being assaulted with beer bottles and being punched in the stomach, have gone viral in social media since morning.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the attack was not pre-planned, but had happened at the spur of the moment. We are going through the video footage obtained from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, which showed that the singer was attacked by six persons with beer bottles. We are yet to identify the other attackers. Investigation is on,” the police inspector said.
Explaining the circumstances of the assault, Sipligunj said one of the miscreants made a lewd comment against a woman accompanying him.
“There was a group of around 10 people in the pub, which was creating a nuisance. One of them passed a lewd comment against the woman in my group and I objected to the same,” he said.
He said he was later pushed by another member of the rowdy group. “This resulted in arguments and counter-arguments and when I resisted, they started beating me up. One of them broke a beer bottle on my face, causing injuries,” he said.
The police were called immediately to disperse the warring groups. They took Sipligunj to a local private hospital, where he was treated as an out-patient. Ritesh Reddy could not be reached for comment.
