Case registered against Uddhav Thackeray’s party MLA's son for attacking singer Sonu Nigam

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday booked Swapnil Phaterpekar, the son of Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Prakash Phaterpekar for allegedly attacking singer Sonu Nigam during an alleged brawl over taking a selfie after a concert in Mumbai on Monday night. During the incident, Nigam's close associates, Hari Prasad and Rabbani Khan, were also injured, and the singer fell on the stairs.

The incident took place around 11 pm when Nigam was in suburban Chembur to attend a music festival, a police official said. While leaving the venue, a group of fans approached the singer for a selfie when his two colleagues intervened, he said. Both colleagues of Nigam were manhandled by the fans, leading to one of them receiving minor injuries, said the official.

A video of the incident later surfaced on social media platforms.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla condemned the alleged attack on renowned singer Sonu Nigam and blamed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction for the incident, describing it as Gundon ki Sena (mob of criminals).

Taking to Twitter, the BJP spokesperson called it "shameful" and said it wasn't the first time such an incident came to the fore.

''Famous singer #SonuNigam reportedly attacked by #UddhavThackeray's MLA Prakash Phaterpekar's son and his men ! THIS HAS BECOME A GUNDON KI SENA. Not the first time such an incident has come to the fore! Earlier a veteran was beaten up! SHAMEFUL ! Will UT faction condemn it?'' he tweeted.

Poonawalla's reaction comes a day after Sona Nigam and his two colleagues were manhandled at an event at Chembur Gymkhana in Mumbai allegedly over a selfie. A video of the incident was doing rounds on social media platforms.