New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday tore into Uddhav Thackeray-led faction over manhandling of singer Sonu Nigam & his associates by a Shiv Sena MLA’s son at an event in Mumbai. Terming it a ‘Gundon ki sena’, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala demanded that Uddhav faction issues apology for insulting a widely-acclaimed singer.
Last night, singer Sonu Nigam & a few of his associates were roughed up by Shiv Sena MLA Prakash Phaterpekar’s son while they were performing at Mumbai’s Chembur. The accused named Swapnil Prakash Phaterpekar has been booked by Mumbai police, under various sections, after the singer filed a complaint against him.
MLA Prakash Phaterpekar belongs to the Uddhav faction of Shiv Sena.
Firing series of salvo at Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena, the BJP spokesperson dared the embattled Sena chief to denounce the incident publicly.
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? pic.twitter.com/e5YxPbFSam
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 21, 2023
What happened at Chembur event
The chaos & drama broke out soon after the singer finished his performance and was set to leave the audience. While Sonu Nigam was leaving the stage, someone caught him from behind. The accused was later identified as Swapnil Phaterpekar, the son of Sena MLA.
According to reports, the MLA’s son wanted to click a selfie with the singer. He grabbed the singer from behind and pulled him up while the latter walked down the stairs.
Sonu’s aide Hari Prakash tried to stop the ‘unwanted advances’ by singer’s fans but he was pushed & shoved from the stage by accused & his supporters. The singer also became a victim of unruly behavior as he was pushed and almost fell on the stairs. His another aide Rabbani Khan jumped to his rescue following which a small scuffle broke out.
A video of the incident went viral on social media. It was recorded by an someone present at the musical event.
In his complaint, the singer said that his aides sustained injuries due to hooliganism of the miscreants and demanded action against them. However, the same was downplayed by Sena MLA Prakash Phaterperkar, who termed the incident a ‘mistake’. He also said that his son & friends didn’t have any intention to harm the singer, they were merely trying to click a selfie with him.
