Social media influencer Sapna Gill, who was arrested for allegedly attacking cricketer Prithvi Shaw, said on Tuesday that the cricketer and his friends molested her in a public place, outraged her modesty and physically assaulted her with a deadly weapon. Shaw was allegedly manhandled and his car attacked with a baseball bat after a row over clicking selfies that started in a luxury hotel in Mumbai in the early hours of February 15.
Spana, her friend Shobhit Thakur and their six friends have been charged with rioting, assault, putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion, criminal intimidation and other offences by Oshiwara police.
Sapna, however, claimed they didn't ask for any selfies, nor did they ask for money. "We didn't beat anyone, nor did we ask for money. They put the wrong allegations about us. I didn't ask for any selfies,” she told news agency ANI.
Sapna said she was trying to save her friend after he saw him being beaten up by the cricketer and his friends. "I went there and stopped them. My friend tried to make a video to show the proof. They beat me with a baseball after I tried to save my friend. One or two people hit me and touched my private parts, and even slapped me," she said.
Sapna, who was released on bail on Monday, has filed an application in a Mumbai police station seeking registration of an FIR against Shaw and others for allegedly outraging her modesty. As per her application, she and her friend Thakur are regular patrons of the upmarket club, where the latter spotting Shaw who was partying with friends and was allegedly inebriated.
Thakur being a cricket fan approached Shaw for a selfie, which was met with hostility, she said.
"Thakur, who is just a teenager, was unaware of the brutality of the drunken mob. Thakur was helpless and was unable to defend himself. Hence, she (Gill) intervened and entered the fray trying to stop Shaw and others from further harming and injuring Thakur," Sapna said in her application filed through advocate Kaashif Ali Khan.
Sapna was arrested on February 16 while Thakur on February 18.