‘There might be a political hand behind Santosh’s case’: Govinda on slap controversy

Mumbai: Refusing to grant relief, the Supreme Court on Monday asked Bollywood actor and former Member of Parliament Govinda to either tender an apology to his fan, Santosh Rai for slapping him in 2008 or face prosecution for criminal intimidation and assault.

On Tuesday, Govinda told the press that he would ‘let them know’ if he would be apologizing for ‘allegedly’ slapping his fan years ago. “I am waiting for the complete Supreme Court order. Let the letter come in hand then I'll decide. I don't have an ego problem. No one really approached me as a fan,’ said the actor.

On Monday, a Bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and V. Gopala Gowda rejected the claim of Govinda’s counsel that the January 18, 2008, incident caught live on a camera by a TV channel, was morphed to implicate him by the complainant, Santosh Bateshwar Rai.

Justice Thakur told the counsel “Govinda should have a big heart to accept the mistake rather than prolonging the litigation that began in January 2008." The Supreme Court asked the actor to settle the dispute with Santosh Rai. "You are a big hero, show your big heart," the Supreme Court told Govinda.

At the press conference, Govinda raised a doubt on Santosh being a fan. “No fan can behave like this. Fans love artists and they do not cross their line. I don't think it's a fan’s case. The person has not given any proof that he is a fan,” Govinda said.

The actor went further on and said that Santosh had went on with the case for many years, so there might be a political hand backing him up.

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