FIR against Yuvraj Singh over casteist remarks against Yuzvendra Chahal
Hisar, Feb 15: The Haryana Police has filed an FIR against former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh over his alleged casteist remarks against Yuzvendra Chahal during an Instagram chat last year, officials said on Monday.
It was during one of the Instagram live sessions with Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma that Singh made the offensive comment about Chahal, while talking about his regular social media posts.
Singh (39) had apologised for the remarks, saying he "unintentionally" hurt public sentiments.
"An FIR has been filed against Yuvraj Singh based on a complaint by lawyer Rajat Kalsan at the Hansi Police Station," Hansi Superintendent of Police, Nikita Gahlaut said on Monday.
She said the case was lodged on Sunday under various provisions of IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Kalsan had filed the police complaint last year.
Police said the FIR has been lodged under IPC sections 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities), Act.
Kalsan had alleged that Singh's comment had hurt the sentiments of the Dalit community, stating that a large number of people had watched the video on social media.
The lawyer had also complained to Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, who had ordered the Haryana Director General of Police to take action in the matter.
Kalsan had also filed a petition in the special court established under the SC/ST Act in Hisar. The court had summoned the status report of the case from Hansi police.
Expressing regret over the comments, the former India cricketer had tweeted, "I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same."
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Will not accept 'Veer Savarkar Award' nor attend the ceremony: Shashi Tharoor
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi (PTI): Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday categorically stated that he would not accept an award named after VD Savarkar, nor attend a related event, even as a senior party colleague wanted the Congress MP to not accept any honour named after the ideologue whom he claimed "bowed before the British."
Tharoor said that he will not accept the "Veer Savarkar Award" and also won't attend the event where it will be presented in the absence of clarifications about its nature or the organisation presenting it.
Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, also said that "it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my having agreed to receive it".
Earlier in the day, Congress leader K Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept any award in the name of Veer Savarkar "as he had bowed before the British."
Muraleedharan said that he does not believe that Tharoor will accept the award as doing so would insult and embarrass the Congress party.
Tharoor later told reporters in the national capital that he heard about the award on Tuesday and that he was not going for the ceremony.
"I heard about it yesterday only. I am not going. I am not here," he said in response to a question on Wednesday on his participation in the award ceremony.
Subsequently, in a post on social media platform 'X', the Congress MP said, "In the absence of clarifications about the nature of the award, the organisation presenting it or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise."
He further said that he learned from media reports that he was named as a recipient of the award when he went to Kerala to vote in the local body polls on Tuesday.
He said he had clarified then that he was neither aware of, nor had accepted, such an award.
"Despite that, today in Delhi, some media outlets continue to ask the same question. Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally," Tharoor added.
Following Tharoor's statement, Aji Krishnan, the secretary of the Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS) India which is presenting the award, told a TV channel that the Congress MP was informed about the matter well in advance.
He said that representatives of HRDS India and the chairman of the award jury had met Tharoor at his residence to invite him and the MP had asked for a list of the other recipients of the award.
"We gave him the list. He has not yet informed us that he will not come for the event. Perhaps he is scared as the Congress has made it an issue," Krishnan claimed.
Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said it was Tharoor's decision whether to accept the award or not.
Tharoor was chosen as one of the recipients of the inaugural Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025, instituted by HRDS India, on Wednesday in New Delhi.
On Tuesday, he had said that he heard about the award through the media and that he was not aware who was giving it.
"I am not aware of anything related to the award. Let me find out what it is," he had said.
