FIR against singer Sonu Nigam for supporting Radhe Maa

The Samta Nagar police station in Mumbai has registered an FIR against singer Sonu Nigam due to his tweets in the Radhe Ma controversy. The complaint was filed by €‹Ramesh Joshi, chairman of Dharma Rakshak Mahamanch, who alleged that Nigam had insulted Goddess Kali by comparing her to the self-styled godwoman Radhe Maa.

The 42-year-old singer, in a series of tweets, had called out the blatant sexism in the treatment meted out to Radhe Maa. He wondered why there were different rules for godmen and godwomen.

The singer tweeted: "Just my 2 pence. Kaali Maa is depicted in lesser clothes than Radhey Maa. Interesting that this country wants to sue a woman for her clothes. Wanna sue, sue the followers... Sue YOURSELVES.. For making them God men and women. Setting different rules for men and women, not fair. Men Saadhus can walk naked. Dance embarrassingly, but it takes a rape charge to put them behind bars. So much for Gender equality?"

Many people countered Nigam's tweets and asked him not to drag faith into the controversy.

Earlier, lawyer Falguni Bramhabhatt had alleged that videos showed the controversial godwoman hugging and kissing her followers, and allowing them to touch her inappropriately.

Radhe Maa alias Sukhvinder Kaur, who claims to be an incarnation of Maa Durga, came into the spotlight earlier this month after leaked pictures of her posing in skimpy red clothes went viral on social media.

She is facing serious charges of dowry harassment, and is being investigated by the Mumbai Police on a complaint filed by one of her followers. Nigam's tweets failed to mention either case.

Film director Subhash Ghai, Bhojpuri actor-turned-Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari, ad guru Prahlad Kakkar and reality TV star Rakhi Sawant are among other celebrities who have come out in Radhe Maa's support.