Bengaluru Police File FIR Against Sonu Nigam For 'Hurting' Kannadigas' Sentiments Over His Pahalgam Remark At Concert

An FIR has been filed against singer Sonu Nigam by the Bengaluru police for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Kannadiga community. This comes after his controversial comments in which he linked a Kannada fan's request to the terror attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.

According to a report in News18, an FIR has been lodged at the Avalahalli Police Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka, following a complaint by the group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. The FIR has been registered under Section 153 (intentional insults intended to provoke a breach of peace).

This comes after Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) filed a complaint with the Bengaluru police and accused Sonu Nigam of "comparing Kannada and the Kannadigas' language struggle to terrorism and what happened in Pahalgam."

The complaint reads, "Sonu Nigam's statements have caused severe distress to the Kannadiga community. By equating a simple cultural request to sing a Kannada song with a terrorist act, Shri Nigam has portrayed Kannadigas as intolerant or violent, which is contrary to their peace-loving and harmonious nature."

Pro-Kannada organisations have demanded an apology from Sonu.

What did Sonu Nigam say?

It all began after Sonu performed at East Point College of Engineering and Technology, Virgonagar, Bengaluru, on April 25, and during his concert, he refused to sing a song in Kannada despite multiple requests by a fan. The singer stated that the young boy was "rudely threatening" him to sing in Kannada, and added, "Yahi kaaran hai, Pahalgam mein jo hua hai na. Yahi kaaran hai jo kar rahe ho, jo kiya tha na abhi. Dekho toh kaun saamne khada hai."

The singer also faced backlash on social media for his comments, with Kannadigas and Kannada cinema artists expressing their outrage online.

Sonu Nigam has yet to release a statement addressing the controversy.