'Bold attire' row: Uorfi Javed gives statement to Mumbai Police

Mumbai, Jan 15, 2023, IANS

Social media influencer Uorfi Javed was summoned by the Mumbai Police to record her statement in connection with a complaint lodged by Maharashtra BJP Vice-President Chitra Wagh, alleging 'public indecency', here on Saturday.

Javed, along with one of her associates, went to the Amboli police station, where her statement was recorded, an officer said.

Coming out in support of Javed, feminist and Bhumata Ranragini Brigade (BRB) chief Trupti Desai said that in India, everybody enjoys the right to sport any attire and nobody can question it.

The development came a day after Javed, through her lawyer Nitin Satpute, lodged a police complaint against Wagh, accusing her of making threats and criminal intimidation to cause harm to her, and demanded preventive and chapter proceedings against Wagh for continuously disrupting peace in the society with her threats.

Since the past over a week, Wagh and Javed have been embroiled in a brawl on the media with the BJP leader taking strong umbrage at the actress' photos and posts 'displaying' her body.

In her complaint, Wagh has said that nobody can imagine how the right to conduct, and freedom of thought given by the Constitution would be manifested in such a subversive manner.

She said if Javed wants to show her body, she can do it behind the four walls as her conduct is fuelling 'perversity' in society.

Hitting back, Javed said she (Wagh) is the same lady who had called for the arrest of Sanjay Rathod (now with the ruling Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena), but after her husband faced certain problems, she joined the BJP.

Javed claimed that now they (Wagh and Rathod) are supposed to be good friends, adding: "I am also going to join the BJP and then we shall be good friend too."

At one point, Javed poked Wagh by calling her 'Chitrua', compared her to a 'mother-in-law' as the latter fumed and virtually shouted threats at Javed during her media briefings.

Referring to allegations in some quarters that Wagh was 'targeting' Javed as she is a Muslim, Wagh had vociferously denied the claims, saying she was only concerned about public decency and etiquettes, and vowed to continue her campaign undeterred.

"Uorfi Javed is supposed to be a bold persons. There are others too, like Kangana Ranaut, Mallika Sherawat or Deepika Padukone... Why are they not booked? Javed is being targeted by the BJP just because she is a Muslim, and now she will be called by the police, false complaints will be lodged against her and she will be harassed in other ways as well," Desai said in a statement.

The BRB chief warned that if Javed is being deliberately targeted by the BJP and the police, or if her rights are violated, "all the women of the state will stand up to support Javed".

Javed's photos and videos in certain types of outfits have generated huge buzz on social media.