Sajid Khan is one of the contestants on Bigg Boss 16. (Photo: PR)Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal claimed that she’s been getting rape threats ever since she took a stand against Sajid Khan’s presence on Bigg Boss 16. On Wednesday, she tweeted a screenshot of her Instagram profile with the offensive messages. She added that she is being harassed ever since she wrote a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur seeking Sajid’s ouster from the reality show. The filmmaker was among those accused during India’s MeToo movement.
Maliwal added in her tweet that she has already filed a police complaint and was hoping that the culprits face stern punishment. Sharing the screenshots, the DCW chief wrote in Hindi, “Ever since I wrote a letter to the I&B minister to get #SajidKhan out of Bigg Boss, I have been receiving rape threats on Instagram. Obviously, they want to stop us. I am filing a complaint with Delhi Police so that they can register an FIR and investigate the matter. The ones behind this should be arrested soon.”
After the first episode of Bigg Boss 16 was aired on October 1, Maliwal tweeted that she has written to Anurag Thakur to take cognizance of Sajid’s inclusion on the show. She tweeted in Hindi, “Ten women had accused Sajid Khan of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement. All these complaints show the disgusting mentality of Sajid. Now, this man has been given a place in Bigg Boss, which is wrong. I have written to @ianuragthakur to have Sajid Khan removed from this show.”
Sajid Khan was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by several women during the MeToo movement in 2018. The filmmaker was suspended for a year by the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) in 2018 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.
Neither Sajid, the makers, host Salman Khan nor any contestant has addressed the matter. Instead, Sajid was being given top-billing. While most celebrities have remained silent on the subject, singer Sona Mohapatra condemned his participation and called out those who were quiet on the subject, including Sajid’s cousin, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar. Actor Devoleena Bhattacharjee is the latest to have condemned the show and told Aaj Tak, “It breaks my heart to see him on national television, trying to prove he is a hero. I feel bad thinking where our society is headed”.