Kapil Sharma-SpotboyE editor spat reaches police

Kapil Sharma-SpotboyE editor spat reaches police

Both file complaints against each other: actor alleges defamation, Lalwani threats

Mumbai: A day after actor-comedian Kapil Sharma hit out at entertainment news portal spotboye.com on Twitter, his lawyer has written to Oshiwara police station asking the police to book website editor Vickey Lalwani for defamation and causing mental trauma.

Mr. Lalwani, meanwhile, filed a Non-Cognisable complaint against Mr. Sharma with Powai police station on Saturday for threatening him over phone and using abusive language. Senior PI Anil Pophale, Powai police station, confirmed receipt of the complaint, but declined to comment on its details.

Mr. Lalwani said, “Mr. Sharma called me around 20 minutes after he tweeted, and made derogatory comments about my family. In the past, we have carried articles on actors like Akshay Kumar opting out of Mr. Sharma’s show, but that was a long time ago. The only article we have published that concerns him directly was on the last-minute cancellation of an interview shoot with Rani Mukherjee, and that is hardly a secret. His rage literally came out of nowhere.”

In the call, which lasted for over 10 minutes, Mr. Sharma also alleges that spotboye.com had linked him to fugitive 1992 blasts mastermind and underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim. Denying this, Mr. Lalwani said, “He also said I referred to him as a ‘zero actor’ in an article, which, again, is not true. I had quoted film trade analyst Amod Mehra as saying so.”

On Saturday, Mr. Sharma’s lawyer, Tanveer Nizam, wrote to Oshiwara police station claiming that spotboye.com had revealed personal information on Mr. Sharma, available only with his ex-managers Neeti and Preeti Simeos. Mr. Nizam claimed this had caused his client emotional and mental distress.

Senior PI Subhash Khanvilkar, Oshiwara police station, said, "We have taken cognisance of the letter and have asked Mr. Sharma to verify it. However, when our team visited his residence, there was no one at home; he seems to have travelled out of town. We’ll wait for him to return. Any further action will be based on what he tells us.”