Mumbai, Feb 21: Renowned singer Sonu Nigam was allegedly attacked by the son of a MLA and his close aide was thrown off the stage during a live concert at Mumbai’s Chembur on Wednesday late night.
Videos of the incident show Sonu Nigam being escorted off the stage soon after the incident. During that time his aide was thrown out the stage mid way through the stairs.
His aide, who suffered minor injuries, received basic treatment at a hospital and was discharged.
“I fell on the steps after I was pushed. Rabbani (Khan) came to save me and was pushed from behind. He could have died. I filed a complaint because people must think about it when they force someone to take a selfie,” said Sonu Nigam after the incident.
A case has been filed for wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt, police said.
“The incident occurred when Sonu Nigam was leaving the stage after his live performance at the Chembur festival. He was stopped from behind by someone. When two people accompanying the singer tried to move him aside, the man pushed them down the steps. This led to one of them sustaining injuries,” said senior police officer Hemraj Singh Rajput.
The man who has been charged in the incident is Swapnil Phaterpekar, the officer said.
When I queried about the boy, I came to know that he was the son of MLA Prakash Phaterpekar, Nigam’s complaint read.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawala targeted former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying the “attack” was carried out by the son of his faction’s MLA.
Denying any political angle to the incident Police officer Rajput said, “according to the conversation with Nigam, nothing seemed intentional. It was spontaneous and done by only one person. The volunteers present there handled the situation. The intention behind the act may be to take a photograph or for media footage. Police will investigate this.”