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: In connection with the stabbing of actor Saif Ali Khan, the Bandra police have filed a detailed chargesheet running over 1,000 pages against accused Shariful Islam, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national. The chargesheet was submitted to the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Bandra, on April 8.
It includes key evidence such as facial recognition results, fingerprint analysis, an identification parade report, and forensic lab findings. Pieces of a knife recovered from the scene were also confirmed to match.
The incident occurred on January 16, around 2:00 AM, when an unidentified intruder allegedly entered Saif Ali Khan's residence on the 11th and 12th floors of Satguru Sharan in Bandra West. The intruder reportedly entered the bathroom attached to the room of Saif's four-year-old son, Jahangir (Jeh), with an intent to steal.
Jeh’s nanny was attacked, prompting Saif to intervene. In the struggle, the accused allegedly stabbed the actor six times in the neck before fleeing the premises. Saif was admitted to Lilavati Hospital for treatment.
Shariful Islam was arrested on January 19. Investigations revealed that he had no knowledge of the house belonging to a celebrity and that his motive was theft.