Complaint withdrawn after singer Arijit Singh's security guard tenders apology for causing inconvenience

Kolkata, Aug 17 (IANS) The security guard of popular playback singer Arijit Singh has tendered an apology to complainant Kamalakanta Laha for causing him inconvenience during a recent video shoot in West Bengal's Santiniketan.

Following the apology, the said person has withdrawn his complaint against the singer and his security guard, which was lodged at Santiniketan police station on August 14.

The police informed on Sunday that both parties were summoned to the Santiniketan police station on Saturday to discuss the matter.

"The complainant and Singh's security guard were called to discuss the matter. Both parties have decided to mutually resolve the matter. Singh's security guard apologised to the person for causing him inconvenience. Following which the complaint was withdrawn," said a senior police officer.

However, following the incident, the people in charge of the video shooting also submitted a bond to the Santiniketan police station so that the residents of Bolpur and Santiniketan in Birbhum district would not be harassed in any way during their activity.

On August 14, a resident of Santiniketan, Kamalakanta Laha, filed a written complaint against Arijit Singh and his security guard at the Santiniketan police station, alleging that Singh's security guard harassed him and hauled him away after he protested against a road blockade due to a video shoot. Laha further alleged that he also lost his gold ring in the scuffle with Singh's security guard.

"I was going to my work on my motorbike. However, the road was blocked due to a video shoot by Arijit Singh. I was in a hurry. Singh's bodyguards told me to wait for five minutes. I stood there. But they were taking a lot of time. I asked them to let me through as I was getting late. Then they said I have to wait for 30 minutes. I was under pressure from work and decided to proceed through the road blockade. At that time, Singh's security guards came and carried me on their shoulders and put me in a police car," he said.

After such harassment, Laha went to the Santiniketan police station and lodged a written complaint against Arijit Singh and his security guard.

For the past few days, Arijit Singh has been in Santiniketan, known for Visva-Bharati University, for a video shoot.

The Padma Shri-winning international artist Arijit Singh has been busy shooting at multiple locations throughout the university town of Santiniketan. Recently, he shot a music video with international pop icon Ed Sheeran in his hometown in Murshidabad district during Sheeran's India tour.

A few days ago, Sheeran released a cross-cultural remix of his summer hit “Sapphire” featuring Arijit Singh. The new version blends English, Hindi and Punjabi-language vocals, with both artists switching between languages throughout the track.

--IANS

sch/dpb