The complaints were filed against former India cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina after they posted their opinions on the trending ‘Tauba Tauba’ trend. In the video, the three cricketers can be seen dancing to Vicky Kaushal’s latest song, but their awkward movements sparked a furor as they were accused of mocking a person with disabilities.
Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh (Twitter)
The National Council for Promotion of Employment for Persons with Disabilities (NCPEDP) filed a complaint against the three veteran cricketers at Delhi’s Amar Colony police station on Monday. The complaint was filed by Arman Ali, general secretary of a disability rights organisation.
Speaking about the complaints filed against the cricketers, Arman Ali said the video featuring Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina was “an insult to over 100 million disabled people in India.”
“When I saw the videos of Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, where they were pretending to be disabled and kind of mocking them in popular songs, I think this is an insult to over 100 million disabled people in India,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
“Harbhajan Singh is a Member of Parliament and should be speaking up for the disabled but what kind of video is he making? There is a huge lack of awareness about disabled people in India. You are spreading myths and making fun of disabled people and that is why I have filed a complaint,” Arman Ali added.
Besides the three cricketers, the chargesheet also mentions Mehta India’s Sandhya Devanathan.The police complaint states that Instagram (owned by Mehta) has violated the Information Technology Act by allowing such content to be posted online.
The former cricketers shared a video on Instagram after India’s champions beat Pakistan’s champions by five wickets in the World Championship of Legends final, in which Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Raina can be seen limping and holding their backs, indicating the physical toll the match took on their bodies.
“Legendary cricketers getting their bodies tauba tauba in 15 days… Every part of the body hurts. Going head to head with our brothers @vickykaushal09, @karanaujla. Our version of the tauba tauba dance. What a song,” the caption of the video read.
Social media users and disability rights groups called the video in poor taste and alleged that the cricketers were mocking disabled people. After deleting the video, Harbhajan Singh also apologised for the viral video and clarified that he had no intention of hurting the sentiments of disabled people.
“I want to make it clear to all the fans who are unhappy about the recent tauba tauba video on social media after winning the England title. We did not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments. We respect every individual and community. This video is to showcase our bodies after 15 days of continuous cricket. Our bodies are sore. It was not our intention to insult or offend anyone. But if people think we have done something wrong then all I can say is I am sorry to you all. Let’s stop here and move on. Stay happy and healthy. Love to you all,” he posted to X.
(With input from relevant agencies)