Salim Khan blames media for escalating row over Salman Khan's rape remark

Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan took to Twitter on 3 July to say that he had hoped that apologising on behalf of his son Salman Khan for his "raped woman" comment would put an end to the problems that surfaced.

"Normally people apologise to get rid of the problem but I meant it hoping that the problem would be over. What is the meaning of getting an apology from a person under the guillotine, who knows rightly or wrongly that he has not committed a crime. But the commercial compulsion of the media wanted to carry it to the saturation point. I regret not knowing this," the 80-year-old tweeted.

Trouble ensued when Salman said he "felt like a raped woman" while describing his ordeal during the shooting of Sultan. He remark, made at a press conference, snowballed into a controversy.

Later, his father Salim Khan contended that Salman meant no wrong when he said he felt like a "raped woman" and even apologised on his behalf after the latter was condemned on social media.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) and Shiv Sena, among others, demanded a public apology from Salman. The NCW received a response from Salman via his lawyer but officials at the rights body said it was not an apology.

The NCW has now summoned the actor for a personal appearance before it on 8 July.

-- IANS