The Chennai Police has summoned Tamil actor Siddharth for his controversial tweet against Indian ace shutter Saina Nehwal. Two complaints were filed against the actor as a result of his tweets, according to the Greater Chennai police.
Addressing reports, the Chennai Police Commissioner, Shankar Jiwali, said, “We have received two complaints regarding (the tweet). A case had already been registered over one of the complaints in Hyderabad, the second complaint involves a defamation. We have already issued summons. Since it is pandemic period, we are thinking how we can get his statement.”
According to PTI, the cybercrime wing of the Hyderabad police has registered a case against the actor under Indian Penal Code section 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of women) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, based on a complaint filed by a woman.
Siddharth had responded to Nehwal's condemnation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab on January 5 in his original tweet (which has since been deleted). Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of the Nation Commission for Women, had called for Siddharth's Twitter account to be suspended and said she would take the matter to the police.
Siddharth had apologized after receiving widespread criticism from activists, politicians, actors, and other celebrities.
In response to the uproar, Nehwal had stated earlier, “He only said it and he is now apologizing. I was surprised to see myself trending on Twitter that day. I haven’t spoken to him but I am happy that he apologized… See, it is about women, he shouldn’t target a woman like that but it’s okay, I am not bothered about it, I am happy in my space and god bless him.”
