Popular Bollywood singer Angarag Papon Mahanta said he has decided to step down as jury member of singing reality show 'The Voice Kids' after a video showing him kissing a minor girl from the show became viral and invited controversy.
A complaint has been registered against the singer under the POCSO act, and an investigation is underway.
In a Facebook post, Papon said he is not in a 'mental state to fulfill most of his professional obligations, and (has) decided to step down as a judge on the show till the matter in which I have been falsely implicated is fully resolved and the investigations are over."
"I have full faith in the judicial system and eventually the truth will prevail. In the interim I would appreciate that my privacy is respected," he added.
In a video shared on Papon's official Facebook page on Thursday, the 41-year-old singer is seen celebrating Holi with few of the contestants of 'The Voice of India Kids Season 2', a singing reality show of which he is a jury member. He is seen applying colours to a contestant and planting a kiss, apparently, on her mouth.
The video soon garnered controversy over allegations of molestation. Lawyer Runa Bhuyan, in her complaint to the NCPCR, alleged the video has "objectionable content violating bodily integrity amounting into sexual assault on a minor girl."
“The said video is taken in a van where the kids participating in reality show Voice of India Kids Season 2 are seemed to involve in some fun activity with the crew members of the show along with singer Angarag Papon Mahanta who is also a jury member of the show. Surprisingly, though there are number of minor girls present inside the van, not a single member of the crew is seen to be present inside the van,” said the top court lawyer.
Papon, however, has denied the charges in a statement, yesterday.
"My humble request to everyone, when you do come across this matter is to just pause and think about how much harm this does to the people involved. I have a loving wife of over 14 years and two young children. There is a little girl involved, whose identity is not masked in any way. Both of our families are being destroyed forever, just by people jumping to conclusions.
However, this is not to say that I haven’t made a mistake. I might have done it spontaneously but in today’s environment, to touch a girl child, however innocent your thoughts are, is not advisable. I am sorry for that. Please do accuse me of being naïve and stupid even but please do not call me all those disgusting names," he said.
