Mumbai: Actor and model Gauahar Khan was allegedly slapped by a 24-year-old youth who was in the audience of a singing show hosted by her at Film City, Goregaon (East), on Sunday. The Aarey Sub police have detained the suspect, Akil Malik. Police sources said the accused told them he disapproved of the actor wearing a short skirt.
According to the police, the incident took place during the final episode of the show at studio number 9. “A preliminary probe has revealed that someone from the audience started teasing Khan to which she protested. An argument ensued between Gauahar and the man who was teasing her. Things turned ugly when the man suddenly slapped the actor,” an Aarey police officer said requesting anonymity.
The brawl did not end there with one of the show’s finalists and one of the production men beating up the accused. Guards deployed at the venue intervened and caught the accused and handed him over to the police who later sent him for a medical examination.
A source from the show reveals, “There were over 2,500 people present at the venue with 250 bouncers. Yet a 24-year-old guy in the crowd teased Khan and got into an argument with her. While he was being escorted out of the place, he managed to go up on stage and slapped her.”
The source adds, “It was chaos after the security pulled the man away. Gauahar was shocked and was crying a lot. A stunned Gauahar didn’t understand what happened. Though the shooting was stopped, Gauahar took a break of an hour to gather her bearings and then reported back on stage to finish the leftover one hour shoot.”
“We will record Khan’s statement in detail and will register a case under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code and will arrest the accused youth,” said Vilas Chavan, senior inspector of the Aarey Sub police station.
