The Chembur (Bombay) police on February 21 registered an offence under IPC sections of assault, negligence and wrongful restraint against Swapnil Phaterpekar, son of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MLA Prakash Phaterpekar, and others for manhandling singer Sonu Nigam and his team on the night of February 20. After Sonu completed his performance at the Chembur Festival, Swapnil, whose family had organised the event, insisted on taking a selfie with him. When not obliged by Sonu, Swapnil got into a scuffle with the singer, his friend, Rabbani Khan, and bodyguard. While Sonu was pushed and fell on the steps, Rabbani was thrown off the stage and sustained injuries.
The police on February 21 collected CCTV footage of the event. Sonu said, “Just because someone is a celebrity doesn’t mean that he has to be obligated and subjected to anyone’s coercion for selfies and videos, that too, in such a violent way.” Meanwhile, the attacker’s sister, Suprada, apologised to Sonu Nigam on Twitter.
The Indian Singers’ Rights Association condemned the attack.