Papon sexual assault case: Singer won’t be part of any shows on the channel, his mom reacts
Papon’s mother has said she is saddened by the allegations of sexual assault against her son and asserted her belief that he would emerge clean from the investigations.
Hours after singer Papon tweeted about quitting the reality show, Voice India Kids, over allegations of sexual assault of a minor girl, the TV channel confirmed his exit. Essel Group, of which & TV is a part, also issued a statement they would never work with the Assamese singer again. Papon’s mother has said she is saddened by the allegations and asserted her belief that the singer would emerge clean from the investigations.
In a statement, &TV said “In light of the ongoing enquiry, and in the best interest of the participants’ well-being, Angarag Mahanta (Papon) will be stepping back as the coach on the show ‘The Voice India Kids’ on &TV. He will not be shooting any further episodes till the issue is resolved. As broadcasters, it’s our responsibility to act in an unbiased and just manner. We’re committed to doing so. In the interim, we would humbly request everyone to please show understanding and concern towards all parties involved and allow for the due process to be completed.”
Papon sexual assault case: The girl herself, Shaan and Zubeen Garg support singer
The Assam Police registered a case against Papon after Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhuyan filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for kissing a minor girl on a reality show where he is one of the mentors. NCPCR had also issued a notice to both singer Papon and the TV channel on Saturday.
The complaint was filed after Papon posted a live Facebook video on his official page where he could be seen kissing a minor girl. The incident took place during the shoot of a Holi celebration on the sets of the reality show where the girl is one of the contestants.
Reacting to the allegations, Papon’s mother Archayana Mahonto told ANI, “Yeh bahot dukh ki baat hai. Woh aisa kar hi nahi sakta. Hum sabka mann kharaab ho gaya hai. Woh clean niklega. Truth always remains the truth. Yeh image ko defame karne ke liye bhi ho sakta hai. Humne socha bhi nahi tha aisa kuch hoga. (This is very sad, he can’t do anything like that. We are all disturbed. He will certainly emerge clean, truth always remains the truth. This can be an attempt to defame him, we never thought something like this could happen!).”
Subhash Chandra, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Chairman, Essel Group & ZEE, tweeted on Saturday: “I have advised CMD of the company to take stringent action not only against him (Papon) but others involved. Papon is barred forever from our group.” His recorded episodes of the &TV show have also been removed.
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