A case has been filed against Hindi television actor Shweta Tiwari on Friday by the Bhopal Police, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with her remark on god during the promotions for her upcoming web series, Show Stopper.
As per a PTI report, an official from Shyamla Hills police station said, “A case was registered against Shweta Tiwari today under IPC section 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).”
The step is said to have been taken based on a complaint lodged by a local resident, Sonu Prajapati, who alleged that the actor had hurt his religious sentiments with her comment.
Tiwari made the allegedly offensive statement during a press conference in Bhopal for the web series, Show Stopper, also starring Rohit Roy, Digangana Suryavanshi, and Sourabh Raaj Jain. In a short video clip that has gone viral, Tiwari can be heard saying, “Mere bra ki size bhagwan le rahe hain (God is taking the measurements for my bra size).”
Tiwari reportedly made this statement jokingly, referring to her co-star Jain, who had earlier featured as Lord Krishna in the Hindi television drama Mahabharata, and is now playing the role of a ‘bra-fitter’ in the upcoming series.
Soon, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra addressed the media and said that Tiwari’s statement was condemnable. He further directed the Police Commissioner of Bhopal to submit a detailed report within 24 hours, after investigating the incident.
Following this, the case was filed against the actor on Friday. “We will summon Shweta Tiwari to the police station either by sending her a notice by post or by sending a police team to her place to serve notice,” the Shyamla Hills police official said.
“The offence is non-bailable, but as it attracts an imprisonment of less than seven years, no arrest can be made as per the Supreme Court’s directive issued earlier,” the official further added.
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Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kotwali) Bittu Sharma further told PTI that though the actor would be “formally arrested,” she is eligible for bail from the police station itself.
Hours after the registration of the case, Tiwari issued a statement clarifying that her comment has been “taken out of context” and “completely misconstrued.”
“As someone who has been a staunch believer of Bhagwan (god) myself, there is no way that I would, intentionally or unintentionally, say or do any such thing that would hurt sentiments by and large. Hence, I would like to humbly apologise for the hurt that my statement has unintentionally caused to a lot of people,” she wrote.