Papon alleged assault: Maha govt. asks Mumbai police to investigate matter

Amidst the controversy concerning singer Angarag Papon Mahanta's alleged sexual assault on a minor girl, Minister of State Women and Child Welfare Vidya Thakur on Saturday directed the Mumbai police to investigate the matter.

The Maharashtra government took cognizance of the Papon issue, where Thakur talked to Mumbai's Commissioner of Police (CP) about the incident, directing him to investigate the incident.

Speaking to ANI, State Women's Body Chief Vijaya Rahatkar confirmed that Thakur has talked to Mumbai CP, adding that Maharashtra Women Commission will take action on the same soon.

On February 23, a complaint was registered against Papon for allegedly "inappropriately kissing a minor girl."

The incident reportedly took place during the shoot of a Holi celebration on the sets of a Hindi singing reality show where the girl is among the contestants.

Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhuyan filed a complaint against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Meanwhile, Papon said that it was "just a case of faulty camera angles and an accidental move."

The 'Jiyein Kyun' hit-maker took to his social media to say, "Please note that a girl in question and her family have gone on record and stated that what is being depicted is not what actually transpired and it is in fact just a case of faulty camera angles and an accidental move and not a sexual assault as being reported.

The said incident transpired in the presence of personnel from the reality show and there is nothing objectionable about it."

The father of the contestant too said in a statement that whatever people saw in the viral video is not 'intentional', infact a moment of affection that is being portrayed otherwise.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)