A man "refused" to take down a video of a woman dancing at a college fest despite her request to pull down the clip in which he made a "kotha" (a term associated with brothels) comment.
In a post on microblogging platform X on Saturday, the woman, Shruti Parija, alleged that she made "endless" requests to the user, Prateek Aaryan, to take down the video but he "refused".
The issue started after Prateek Aaryan posted a video of Shruti Parija dancing at a college fest. The clip, however, has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.
"The Indian schools and colleges are well known for organising 'sanskritik karyakram' (cultural programme) and performances based on traditional and regional culture, but now it has become a kotha," Prateek Aaryan wrote on February 13.
"In the name of cultural events, shaking booty on item songs is all they call a cultural program. Along with the education system, the cultural system is in danger in India. What a downfall for this generation and colleges in India," Aaryan said.
Two days later, Shruti Parija commented on the post, which before going unavailable had over 25 lakh views, and said that she was the girl in the video and that the video was reposted without her consent.
"Please take it down," Parija requested and said that she was not a student at the college but was, in fact, a professional performer.
"I was the judge there. The students, audience and everyone in the auditorium requested me to perform on this track at their own fest," she said.
"You have a right to voice what is right and what is not but not to the extent of defaming me, who is not even associated with the college," Parija said.
Responding to this, Aaryan said he spoke about Indian schools and colleges and was not pointing the fingers at her.
"I spoke about Indian schools and colleges, explicitly stating that I haven't said anything about you... In the second line, I mentioned that under the guise of a cultural program, there is dancing to item songs, so that's clear I'm not mentioning you anywhere. My intention was not to cause you any harm. I've shared my general opinion on the college system posting your video. Please read the original tweet statement once again and consider if I've said anything wrong about you," he said.
In a separate post, he then the video isn't her "intellectual property", adding that she does not "own the rights", "You're only a participant," he said.
He alleged that Shruti and her friend "used violent speech, threatened legal action, and mentioned putting" him "behind bars."
"Please proceed with your first option. As I clarified earlier, I didn't abuse or slut-shame you, and you acknowledged that( I've screenshots). So, if you're blaming and alleging me of abuse and violent slurs, do whatever you can. I am not deleting that post," he said.
Mumbai Police Steps In
Shruti Parija then tagged Mumbai Police's X handle and said that she made "endless" requests to Prateek Aaryan to take the down video but he "refused".
"After endless requests made to Prateek Aaryan to take my video down from his post where he is comparing the stage I'm dancing on as a kotha, in turn defaming me and damaging my reputation, he has refused to do so and has blackmailed me instead," she wrote.
The Mumbai police responded to her post and asked for her contact details to speak to her on the matter.
Parija on Sunday said that the media in Aaryan's post has finally been disabled as a result of a copyright claim.
"Although the video hasn't been taken down by him and might still be available in this post in some areas," she said.
