Guwahati: Singer Angaraag Papon Mahanta, against whom a complaint has been filed for "inappropriately kissing a minor girl", stepped down as a judge from a singing reality show on Saturday.
Guwahati police commissioner Hiren Chandra Nath said they registered a case (No. 502/2018) against Papon under Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Saturday, following a complaint filed against him by the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The Pocso Act deals with "aggravated sexual assault". Punishment under the section carries a jail term of not less than five years, which may be extended to seven years, and a fine.
Nath said the complaint was filed by Sunita Changkakoti, chairperson of the commission, on Friday. The police registered the case at Dispur police station as the commission's office is located within its jurisdiction.
The incident occurred during a pre-Holi celebration where Papon and a few participants of the reality show, Voice India Kids, where he is a mentor and judge, were interacting with fans through a Facebook live video.
Papon landed in the controversy after Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhuyan filed a complaint against him with National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on February 22, accusing him of "sexually assaulting" a minor participant of the reality show.
Bhuyan alleged in her complaint that the video shows the child participants of the reality show involved in some fun activities with the crew, including Papon who is seen smearing colour on the face of a girl and kissing her.
"We will investigate the complaint and summon Papon for questioning since he has been named as the accused," Nath said.
Reacting to the allegation, Papon on Friday wrote on his Facebook page, "I am very painfully conscious of the accusations that have been made against me in the last few days. Anyone who knows me would be aware that I am an extremely affectionate and expressive person. That is the way I have been brought up and that's how I have always been with people close to me or people I care about. To show affection for an 11-year-old child who I have been mentoring for a while now is not an alien concept for me. Please do remember that it is a video on my own facebook live and stop for a moment and at least wonder why I would myself promote a video where I am 'apparently' doing all the unmentionable things that I am being accused of. My humble request to everyone, when you do come across this matter, is to just pause and think about how much harm this does to the people involved. I have a loving wife of over 14 years and two young children. There is a little girl involved, whose identity is not masked in any way. Both of our families are being destroyed forever, just by people jumping to conclusions."
In another post on Saturday, Papon said: "Since I am in no mental state to fulfil most of my professional obligations, I have decided to step down as a judge on the show till the matter in which I have been falsely implicated is fully resolved and the investigations are over. I have full faith in the judicial system and eventually the truth will prevail. In the interim I would appreciate that my privacy is respected."
