Sonu Nigam and Rabbani Mustafa Khan manhandled at a Mumbai concert

Sonu Nigam’s musical evening in Mumbai on Monday night took an unfortunate turn when Swapnil Prakash Phaterpekar, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, barged in and manhandled the singer and his team. When singer Rabbani Mustafa Khan (Nigam’s guru, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s son) came to his rescue, he too was pushed off the stage.

“Around 10pm, some men from Shiv Sena pushed audience members and made their way backstage. They misbehaved with Sonu and pushed my husband off the stage. He was rushed to the hospital,” says Namrata Gupta Khan, Rabbani’s wife. “How could such an unfortunate incident take place at a concert of Sonu Nigam, who is known for being so cordial with his fans?” she adds.

“I fell on the steps. Rabbani, who tried to save me, was pushed from behind. He could have died. I filed a complaint because people must think about it when they force someone to take a selfie. Some people are just so unfair when it comes to asking for selfies and pictures. There was no other reason he’d behave so aggressively,” Nigam tells us.

Festival organiser Suprada Phaterpekar tweeted, “While Shri Sonu Nigam was being ushered off the stage after his performance. my brother was trying to take a selfie with him… The person who fell was taken to Zen hospital & was discharged after examination. Shri Sonu Nigam is unhurt… We have officially apologised to Sonu sir & his team for the incident. Please donot believe baseless rumours and those trying to politicize the matter. (sic)”