Actor Siddharth has been booked by the Cyber Crime Wing of the Hyderabad police for allegedly making derogatory comments on ace shuttler and Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal on Twitter.
Siddharth was recently called out for his response to Nehwal’s tweet about the alleged recent security breach that Prime Minister Narendra Modi encountered in Punjab.
On January 5, Nehwal had tweeted, “No nation can claim itself to be safe if the security of its own PM gets compromised. I condemn, in the strongest words possible, the cowardly attack on PM Modi by anarchists.” She was referring to the incident where Modi’s convoy was reportedly blocked on a flyover in Punjab’s Ferozepur, causing a security breach for a brief period of time.
Retweeting Nehwal’s comment, Siddharth, in a now deleted tweet, wrote, “Subtle cock champion of the world… Thank God we have protectors of India. Shame on you #Rihanna.”
Soon after this, many prominent personalities, including singer and voice artist Chinmayi Sripada as well as BJP leader and actor Khushbu, criticised Siddharth’s tweet. National Commission for Women too called the actor out for his “lewd comment” on Nehwal. The NCW also termed the comment “misogynist and outrageous to the modesty of a woman amounting to disrespect and insult to the dignity of women on social media platforms.” The body further wrote to the Maharashtra and Chennai police urging investigation and the registration of an FIR in the matter. It also called for Twitter to block Siddharth’s account.
As the issue escalated, Siddharth, on Monday, posted a follow-up to his previous tweet to clarify his comment. In this tweet, which has also since been deleted, he wrote, “’COCK & BULL’ That’s the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading! Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period.”
A day later, Siddharth issued a public apology to Nehwal, stating that his “disappointment or anger” could not justify his “tone and words.”
Recommended
Nehwal acknowledged Siddharth’s apology and said, “He said something about me first and then apologised. I don’t even know why it went so viral. I was surprised to see myself trending on Twitter. Happy that Siddharth has apologised.”
However, a social activist named Prerna filed a complaint with the Hyderabad police regarding the incident on Wednesday, KVM Prasad, ACP of the Cyber Crime Wing, Hyderabad, told Silverscreen India. “We have booked the actor under Sections 509 of the IPC (insulting the modesty of a woman) and 67 of the Information Technology Act (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form). We will issue a notice to Siddharth to appear and submit his explanation,” he added.