New Delhi: Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has taken suo-moto note of violation of the rule by Indian Cricket Team skipper Virat Kohli over one of his promotional posts on social media. The Council said it will write to the Indian skipper about the violation that can possibly result in a heavy fine being imposed on him.

Virat Kohli had recently posted a promotional campaign praising Lovely Professional University (LPU). The cricketer had tagged LPU’s official social media handles and used the hashtag #LPUStudentsInOlympics. The post was reportedly devoid of any disclosure required by ASCI’s newly launched influencer guidelines.

“ASCI will take up the issue and write to the celebrity and the advertiser for their clarifications." Manisha Kapoor, secretary-general, ASCI was quoted as saying by Mint in their report.

On Tuesday, Kohli took to social media, where he has a massive following of 228 million fans across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to praise LPU and its contribution to the Olympics.

“What a record, 10% of Indian Olympians are from Lovely Professional University. I hope LPU will send students to the Indian cricket team also! Jai Hind," said Kohli.

The cricketer shared a promotional advertisement by LPU, which appeared in print publication, along with a list of 11 students who are part of the Indian Olympic squad.

Communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan said that Kohli is probably the most popular and leading influencer in India and it is almost incumbent upon ASCI to take some sort of action and at least comment on it. “…it is critical so that it doesn’t set a bad precedence. I’ve reached out to ASCI and they said they are taking it up suo moto on their own. All other influencers and the agencies are keenly looking forward to what ASCI will do in this case or how the penalty will be imposed, if there’s a penalty at all as it will set a new direction. This is the first time the rules are being implemented, we do not know how much power does ASCI have but it has to be vocal," he was quoted by Mint.

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Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Thursday expressed concern over the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan by an intruder at his home in Mumbai and termed the incident as "worrisome".

Sule, who is a friend of Saif Ali Khan's wife Kareena Kapoor Khan's family, said the actor was hospitalised and was safe. The incident took place at around 2.30 am on Thursday at Saif Ali Kan's house in Mumbai's Bandra area, according to police. The actor, who was injured after the intruder attacked him with a knife, was hospitalised and required a medical procedure.

Sule spoke to Saif Ali Khan's sister-in-law Karisma Kapoor over phone in the presence of mediapersons at Baramati in Pune but declined to share details of the conversation. Saif Ali Khan was in hospital while Kareena had returned home, Sule was apparently told by Karisma Kapoor.

The NCP (SP) leader also enquired with Karisma Kapoor on how the intruder got inside Khan's house. "Saif is safe and in hospital. Wait for the official statement from the family and the police," Sule told reporters. The parliamentarian is a friend of Kareena Kapoor Khan's aunt Reema Jain, the daughter of legendary filmmaker and actor late Raj Kapoor.

"There was an attempted burglary in Saif Ali Khan and (his wife and actor) Kareena Kapoor Khan's residence last night. Saif had an injury on his arm for which he is in hospital, undergoing a procedure. The rest of the family is doing fine," Kareena Kapoor's team said in a statement. "We request the media and fans to be patient and not speculate any further as the police is already doing their due investigations. Thank you all for your concern," the statement said.