It has been a day and Bollywood’s popular singer-composer Papon has become the topic of town after a video of him has surfaced the internet in which he is seen committing a heinous act. This came out as a part of Holi celebrations, the singer is seen spending the Holi time with the contestants of a music reality show he is judging which eventually led to a harassment complaint. He has been charged with “inappropriately kissing” a minor.

In a video which was there on Facebook that has gone viral, Papon can be seen applying color to a contestant’s face and planting a kiss on her lips, leaving her stunned. This incident has reached the mainstream news after supreme court lawyer Runa Bhuyan has filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights against Papon under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

On the career front, Papon is now one of the judges on Voice India Kids along with singers Shaan and Himmesh Reshammiya. On Tuesday, he went live on his Facebook page. After a rendition of Holi staple Rang Barse, he approaches the girl, smears color on her face and kisses her.

Watch the video here:

“I am shocked to see the behavior of the said singer Angarag Papon Mahanta towards a minor girl where he is seen to be applying colors to a minor girl and inappropriately kissing the said girl. On seeing the video, I am seriously concerned regarding the safety and security of minor girl participating in reality shows across India,” her complaint said.

Further, she added that the guidelines need to be set up to protect children from “such assaults” in reality shows.

While all this is going on one side, Papon has come forward talking about the video, he conveyed that the content in the video is misinterpreted and it doesn’t mean what it is shown there, he posted a mammoth explanation on his Facebook account, it read,

I am very painfully conscious of the accusations that have been made against me in the last few days. Anyone who knows me would be aware that I am an extremely affectionate and expressive person. That is the way I have been brought up and that’s how I have always been with people close to me or people I care about. To show affection for an 11-year-old child who I have been mentoring for a while now is not an alien concept for me. Please do remember that it a video on my own facebook live and stop for a moment and at least wonder why I would myself promote a video where I am ‘apparently’ doing all the unmentionable things that I am being accused of.

My humble request to everyone, when you do come across this matter is to just pause and think about how much harm this does to the people involved. I have a loving wife of over 14 years and two young children. There is a little girl involved, whose identity is not masked in any way. Both of our families are being destroyed forever, just by people jumping to conclusions. 
However, this is not to say that I haven’t made a mistake. I might have done it spontaneously but in today’s environment, to touch a girl child, however innocent your thoughts are, is not advisable. I am sorry for that. Please do accuse me of being naïve and stupid even but please do not call me all those disgusting names.

Please note that the girl in question and her family have gone on record and stated that what is being depicted is not what actually transpired and it is in fact just a case of faulty camera angles and an accidental move and not a sexual assault as being reported. The said incident transpired in the presence of personnel from the reality show and there is nothing objectionable about it. I admit that I am an extremely affable person and am very convivial with my fan community but please bear in mind that I have been happily married for over 14 years with two children and I would do nothing to cause harm to them. I hold the girl in high regards not only as a lady but also as a contestant on the reality show I am part of. If I had anything to be culpable of, the said video would have been deleted from my social media. As an accountable civilian, the safety and respect of women are of grave importance to me and I would never commit an act that is inappropriate or discourteous in any form. Please know that my intentions with everything that I do in my life are always pure and honest and I would never commit an indecent act as it is being portrayed. I urge the members of the press and my fans to please consider both sides of the story before maligning my public repertoire and damaging the reputation of this girl. My family stands by me in this tough time where I feel I am victimized for no fault of mine.

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