more-in Mumbai: A day after singer Papon landed in controversy for kissing a minor girl on camera, the Maharashtra State Women's Rights Commission (MSWRC) initiated its investigation in the matter. Papon, who judges Voice of India Kids, a singing competition for children on TV, along with fellow singers Shaan, Palak Muchhal and Himesh Reshammiya, faced severe backlash from celebrities and the public after a video of him kissing a 11-year-old participant on her lips went viral on Friday. A Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer subsequently filed a complaint against him with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. MSWRC chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said on Saturday that a notice is being issued to the show’s production house. “We’re asking them to furnish information on guidelines or instructions issued regarding conduct to ensure safety of minors on the sets. We’ll wait for their response before taking further action.” The commission has also contacted the city police, who said taking action against Papon might be difficult unless there is a formal complaint filed with them regarding the incident. A senior police officer said, “We faced the same problem in the sexual harassment case against (IT entrepreneur) Arunabh Kumar: no one was willing to register a complaint at first. It was only after victims in the case came forward that we registered an FIR. In cases of sexual harassment, the victim’s statement is one of the strongest pieces of evidence. In Papon's case, the parents have publicly said that they don’t wish to complain against him.” Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deven Bharti said that no complaint had been registered against Papon so far. “We’re verifying the facts.” Bollywood not amused Filmmaker Farah Khan defended Papon, but said the video of the incident did make her feel uncomfortable. “I know Papon, he’s a good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw that video, it made me uncomfortable. I don’t think he meant to do it, but if it was my daughter, I wouldn’t like it. I think people should not touch other’s children, just show affection to your own children,” she said at an event on Saturday. The minor girl’s parents, meanwhile, defended the singer, saying, “Papon is a mentor and a father figure to my daughter”. Farah replied, saying, “I think, if you see the girl’s face after it happened, you’ll realise how uncomfortable she was. But like I said, he is not a mad person to do it while the camera was rolling. He must have genuinely not meant it, but it didn’t give me a good feeling.” Others including Raveena Tandon, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and Gauhar Khan lambasted Papon on Twitter. “Disgusting! Shameful! Perverse! This man Papon should be arrested! The girls parents succumbing to pressure! The explanations given are ridiculous! Haven’t felt such anger and shame to see this happen and some on TV debates actually defending the act!” Ms. Tandon tweeted. Ms. Krishnamoorthi wrote, “If anybody behaved with my daughter the way Papon did with the teenage girl I would slap him several times in such a way that no one dared behave that way again.” Ms. Khan said, “Wasn’t smothering a child’s face with your palm rubbing colour all over it for four seconds enough as fatherly love, that you had to pull the child’s face then to strategically peck her on the lip? There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly by the way?” In a statement, Papon said he is an ‘extremely affectionate and expressive’ person and it didn’t occur to him that his show of affection would be taken out of context. “My humble request to everyone, when you come across this matter, 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 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 naive and stupid even, but please do not call me all those disgusting names.” he said. — With PTI inputs

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