An FIR has been filed against former cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Gurkeerat Mann for allegedly mocking people with disabilities in a video that was uploaded on Instagram.
The complaint was lodged by Arman Ali, the executive director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). Ali said, in the video, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh were pretending to be disabled, which is an insult to over crores of disabled people in India.
"I think it's an insult to more than 10 cr disabled people of India. Harbhajan Singh is an MP, and he should raise his voice for the disabled, but what kind of video he is making?... In India, there is an acute lack of awareness concerning disabilities. You are spreading myth and making fun of them and that's why I have filed a complaint," said Arman Ali, reported ANI.
Sandhya Devanathan, the Vice President and Managing Director of Meta India, has also lodged a complaint, as it violates the Information Technology Act, 2000, reported The Hindu.
According to the complaint, Meta-owned Instagram, violates the act by allowing Harbhajan's video to be posted.
The report further mentioned that a simple apology from the cricketers was not enough. "They must be penalised for their actions," he told PTI.
Earlier, ace cricketer Harbhajan Singh had issued an apology, and deleted his video on the viral Tauba Tauba song trend amid widespread criticism. The assertion followed hours after para-badminton star Manasi Joshi had lashed out at Singh and fellow cricketers Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh for ‘mocking’ the gait of people suffering from polio.
"We didn't want to hurt anyone's sentiments. We respect every individual and community. And this video was just to reflect to our bodies after playing continues cricket for 15 days. Sore bodies..
We are not trying to insult or offend anyone. Still if people think we have done something wrong…all I can say from my side is sorry to everyone. Please let's stop this here and move forward," Harbhajan had urged on social media.
