Essel group barred singer Papon forever after controversy; Read their statement here

Majority of the child abuse cases go unreported as the child fails to understand between good & bad touch. The authorities are the best to decide in this case. I appreciate the petitioner for being vigilant & all the media houses who have been reporting about the story.

— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) February 24, 2018

In another tweet, he wrote, “When the parents send their children for participating in reality shows, they bestow trust upon us, which we must never break. We are duty-bound to treat every kid as ours and provide them safety and security.”

When the parents send their children for participating in reality shows, they bestow trust upon us, which we must never break. We are duty bound to treat every kid as ours and provide them safety and security.

— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) February 24, 2018

He further tweets, “Papon incident is unfortunate & must be unequivocally condemned, whatever the reason may be. I urge the authorities to take every action that they think deems fit to the law & let the law take its due course.”

Papon incident is unfortunate & must be unequivocally condemned, whatever the reason may be. I urge the authorities to take every action that they think deems fit to the law & let law take its due course.

— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) February 24, 2018

His next tweet read, “Papon’s already recorded shows have also been edited and he has been removed from the shows which will go on air today onwards.”

Papon’s already recorded shows have also been edited and he has been removed from the shows which will go on air today onwards

— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) February 24, 2018

In the last tweet, he wrote, “On incidence of Papon I have advised CMD of the Company to take stringent action not only against him but others involved. Papon is barred forever from our group.”

On incidence of Papon I have advised CMD of the Company to take stringent action not only against him but others involved. Papon is barred for ever from our group

— Subhash Chandra (@subhashchandra) February 24, 2018

A video of the singer showing Papon kissing a minor contestant on the show is been viral.

The incident took place on Tuesday night during a Facebook Live session after which a complaint has been filed against him by Supreme Court Runa Bhuyan under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

After the kissing controversy, the &TV channel removed singer Papon from the designation of a judge from the reality show The Voice India-Kids and also issued a statement.

Here’s the statement:

“The Papon incident is unfortunate and is unequivocally condemned. The decision to not have Papon on the show has already been communicated. Anyone who fails to abide by our code of conduct will not be engaged by our network. We have faith in the judicial system to take the necessary actions that they deem fit. We have extended our full cooperation to the concerned authorities.

As a responsible broadcaster immediately after this incident was brought to our notice, an internal enquiry was initiated. Post the enquiry, instant support was extended towards the participants and their families. An on-call psychologist is available to offer counsel to the children and their parents and an external counsel has been appointed to address the situation.

We are committed to the well-being of our participants and would like to restate that a safe and secure environment is of utmost priority to us. All the parents send their children for participating in our shows with a deep level of trust. We truly value this trust and will do everything it takes to live up to this expectation.”