Yuvraj Singh arrested for his ‘bhangi’ comment on Chahal; released on bail
Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh had found himself in trouble during the lockdown earlier this year. He had addressed Yuzvendra Chahal as ‘bhangi’ during his Instagram live conversation with Rohit Sharma. Post this, an FIR was lodged against the cricketer in Hansi for his way of addressing the Indian leg-spinner. However, Yuvraj had come up with a clarification later as well stating that he never believed in any kind of disparity.
Rajat Kalsan, from Hansi, had lodged an FIR under various sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act. Kalsan had alleged that Yuvraj Singh had made an objectionable remark while referring to another player (Chahal). Accordingly, Yuvraj joined the investigation as per the directions of the court.
According to The Tribune, Yuvraj Singh was arrested in reaction to his controversial comment, however, was soon released on interim bail. “The SP said he was released on interim bail after the arrest. She said that the police had already recovered the phone of the cricketer,” the report read.
Yuvraj was booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the IPC and Section 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention and Atrocities) Act.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh has approached the High Court of Punjab and Haryana pleading innocence in the case. He has also sought quashing of the FIR.
What had Yuvraj Singh said about Yuzvendra Chahal?
Interestingly, the Instagram live video between Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma went viral after a couple of months post the former’s comment on Chahal. He had said, “Ye bhangi log ko Yuzi ko koi kaam nahi hai. Yuzi ne dekha kya video daala apni family ke saath.” (This roughly translates to – These ‘bhangi’ people Yuzi has no work). #YuvrajSinghmaafimaango was also trending on social media asking the cricketer to apologise.
Yuvraj had later come up with a clarification stating that his comments have been misunderstood and didn’t intend to hurt anyone. “This is to clarify that I have never believed in any kind of disparity, be it on the basis of caste, colour, creed or gender. I have given and continue to spend my life for the welfare of the people. I believe in dignity of life and respect each individual without any exception.
“I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same. My love for India and all its people is eternal,” Yuvraj had written in his tweet.
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) June 5, 2020
