Cricketer Prithvi Shaw selfie controversy: ‘We are the victims. They framed us’

The Oshiwara police on Thursday filed an FIR against eight people partying at a five-star hotel near the domestic airport for allegedly vandalising cricketer Prithvi Shaw's car with a hockey stick after he refused their request for more selfies. The accused, however, claimed that Shaw manhandled them for requesting a selfie and broke their vehicle's windscreen with a bat. The main accused in the case is Shobhit Thakur and his friend Sana alias Sapna Gill, a social media influencer, police said.

The incident occurred on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, at 1 am, at Hotel Sahara Star. According to Oshiwara cops, Shaw and his friends Ashish and Brijesh were having dinner at the hotel's restaurant when Thakur requested for a selfie with the cricketer. Shaw agreed for one selfie, cops said, adding that after a few minutes, Thakur came for more selfies and the cricketer refused. However, Thakur continued to insist that he take a selfie with them, so Shaw called the restaurant manager, who took the former away.

Prithvi Shaw outside Hotel Sahara Star during the brawl

A police officer said, "Thakur then left the hotel and was standing outside with a hockey stick. Later, Shaw and friends also went out and noticed him. They sat in their car to leave, but Thakur started attacking the front window." Meanwhile, Ashish stopped another car leaving the hotel and requested them to give Shaw a lift to his place, as his life was at risk, cops said. Ashish and Brijesh also managed to get out of there in their car. However, Thakur and his friends followed them and broke the rear window. Shaw's friends as well as the accused stopped near Lotus petrol pump in Oshiwara. Sapna allegedly abused them and demanded Rs 50,000, threatening to file a fake case, said the cops, adding that they further attacked the friends' car.

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Man sets two SUVs on fire as revenge against builder's employee, arrested

Police, who were alerted by Shaw's friends, arrived at the spot and seeing them, the accused fled, said cops. Later, Shaw and Ashish went to the police station and lodged a complaint. "Shaw said no to more selfies because he was constantly disturbing us. This made Thakur angry. He attacked us with a hockey stick and we have a video to prove it," Ashish told mid-day. Police have booked eight people, including Thakur and Gill, for extortion, insult, criminal intimidation, rioting, etc.

The other side

Speaking with mid-day, Gill claimed that she did not even know who Shaw was. "While having dinner, my friends saw him and told him he was a cricketer. We requested a selfie, but Shaw refused angrily and started a fight. He was drunk," she alleged. "Later, he came out of the hotel, took his bat out of the car and broke the windscreen of our vehicle," she said.

"He then abused and manhandled us, and said ‘you don't know who I am. I won't spare you'. He also pushed me in the chest. Shaw's case is false and he is framing us. Oshiwara cops listened to only him. This is unacceptable. We are also filing an FIR against him."

Gill's lawyer Advocate Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh said, "The people who were with Shaw manhandled her. The police have taken a one-sided case against my client, and illegally detained her at Oshiwara police station. Cops didn't allow her to go get treatment to file a criminal case against Shaw. We are preparing to file a counter complaint against Shaw and his friends for assault and outraging a woman's modesty."