In more trouble for Jawed Habib, a police complaint was registered against the famous hair stylist accusing him of “insulting and demeaning” Hindu Gods in a newspaper advertisement for his salon.
The complaint was filed at Saidabad police station by K Karuna Sagar, who is an advocate by profession. Jawed Habib invited the ire of many social media users after a print advertisement showed Hindu deities visiting his salon. The print ad that made its place in a Kolkata newspaper was for the upcoming festive season, reported India Today. The ad with the tagline — “Gods too visit JH salon” showed Goddess Durga along with her children Lakshmi, Ganesh, Saraswati, and Kartik relaxing at Habib’s salon.
The case has been registered under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), a senior police official told PTI. Asked if a notice will be issued against Habib for questioning, he said, “We will take legal opinion and proceed accordingly.”
When told that the hair stylist had apologised over the matter, the official said, “We will look into that.”
The advocate, in his complaint at the Saidabad police, earlier stated that while browsing through a social media service, he came across a photo of an advertisement “issued” by Jawed Habib in a newspaper, allegedly depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses in a “derogatory and insulting” way. He said the ad, which carried the caption ‘Gods too visit JH Salon’, “insulted his religious sentiments.”
Sagar sought action against Habib in the complaint even though Habib, through a video message posted on his twitter handle, had offered an apology over the issue.
— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017
“One of our partners released the advertisement without our permission in Kolkata. Our system is through franchise..I have been working for 25 years. My only religion is scissors. Sentiments have been hurt…I apologise.”
— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017
(with PTI inputs)
