New Delhi:
Indian Idol judge Anu Malik who received immense backlash after being reinstated at the singing competition show reportedly has quit the show again this year though the channel heads a few days ago took to social media to claim that the charges against him are "false and unverified''.
Although the singer has not made any formal declaration, a source close to the channel confirmed to IANS that Malik "is stepping down as a judge from Indian Idol".
The channel that airs the show was sent a notice by the National Commission of Women. The commission also shared the notice on their official Twitter handle. They captioned it, "@NCWIndia has taken Suo-motu cognizance of this matter and send a notice to Sony Entertainment Television @sharmarekha @MinistryWCD @PMOIndia."
The commission mentioning singer Sona Mohapatra's tweet asked the channel to clarify what action was taken on the same. It reads, "The National Commission for Women has come across a Twitter post of Ms Sona Mohapatra wherein it has been alleged that Sony TV has ignored the testimonies of multiple women against a person regarding sexual harassment and assault has further been made a judge for youngsters on national television."
@NCWIndia has taken Suo-motu cognizance of this matter and send a notice to Sony Entertainment Television @sharmarekha @MinistryWCD @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/gTUStj9ixC
— NCW (@NCWIndia) November 21, 2019
The notice was addressed to Rohit Gupta, president, Sony Entertainment Television.
Singer Sona Mohapatra who has always protested against Anu Malik wrote an open letter to Smriti Irani, Union Women and Child Development Minister pointing out that many women are reaching out to her to take up their case after which the government said that it has begun listing all sex offenders in a digital database. In her letter, she mentioned how Sony TV ignored testimonies of multiple women against Anu Malik, and reinstated him as a judge on Indian Idol 11.
My open letter to the honourable minister for women & child development.👇ðŸÂ¾. @smritiirani ,I hugely admire you, your tenacity & commitment to work for the welfare of people in India & I request you to please read this.Many more women are writing in to me privately about this manðŸ™ÂÂÂÂÂðŸÂ¾ pic.twitter.com/Z8bU8RG528
— ShutUpSona (@sonamohapatra) November 21, 2019
A few days ago, Anu took to social media and claimed "false and unverified allegations" were being levelled against him. He said that he was "in pain" and "in a dark space", demanding justice.
— Anu Malik (@The_AnuMalik) November 14, 2019
Anu Malik's name got entangled at the MeToo movement last year after female singers including Shweta Pandit and Sona Mohapatra accused him of sexual misconduct and since then the film industry has taken a serious cognizance of this. Apart from removing him from Indian Idol he was also reportedly barred from entering the premises of Yash Raj Studio.
