Hardik Pandya is in news again, but it is not because of his new hairstyle or rumored link-up with a popular television this time, but a tweet on Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The India all-rounder has landed in trouble after a special court in Jodhpur, a city in the northwest Indian state of Rajasthan, order police to file an FIR against him over an 'derogatory' tweet on Ambedkar, celebrated Indian political leader and the architect of Indian constitution.
"Which Ambedkar ??? The one who drafted across law and constitution or the one who spread the disease called reservation in the country," Pandya tweeted in December 2017, according to a Rajasthan-based lawyer, DR Meghwal, who filed a petition against the cricketer Tuesday, March 22.
The petitioner even demanded appropriate punishment for Pandya, who "tried to spread hatred and create division in the society." He alleged that the 24-year-old had attempted to disregard the constitution and the architect of the constitution, according to The Times of India.
Meghwal, who claims to be a member of Rashtriya Bhim Sena, had also pointed out how such a comment from a "popular cricketer" like Pandya affected the sentiments of his community.
Parody account creates trouble for Pandya: Report
As it turns out, the tweet in question was not posted from Pandya's official handle on Twitter — @hardikpandya7. An NDTV report states that it is the work of a parody account — @srihardik3777 that triggered reactions and eventually landed the Baroda-based cricketer in trouble.
The profile of the said parody account is not available anymore on Twitter. International Business Times, India had earlier reported that the tweet was not showing on Pandya's official Twitter profile.
A police officer from Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, said they are yet to receive the court order.
Parody accounts of Indian cricketers and even a few administrators have been quite popular over the years on social media platforms. Most of them have usernames and photos similar to the original account. It becomes difficult to differentiate unverified original accounts from their parody accounts.
Most of the parody accounts, though, keep the conversations clean and sometimes witty as well. However, the recent controversy surrounding Pandya might make celebrities apprehensive about such unofficial accounts.
