Ekta Kapoor offers clarification amid POCSO charges; says ‘The company has complete faith in...’

Readers may be aware of the fact that Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor had been recently booked under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for ALT Balaji's web series Gandi Baat. The latest update on the same is that, they have now issued an official statement to the media on the social media handle of ALTBalaji.

The official statement (as shared by AltBalaji) read as, ‘With reference to various media reports regarding the web series Gandi Baat, ALT Digital Media Entertainment LTD. (Company) hereby clarifies that it is fully compliant with all applicable laws including the POCSO Act and any reference to engagement of minors by the company is entirely incorrect’.

The statement added, ‘The company has complete faith in the judiciary and is fully cooperating with the authorities in the investigation. Since the matter is sub-judice, the company refrains from commenting in detail’.

Furthermore, it stated that, ‘It is further clarified that Mrs. Shobha Kapoor and Ms. Ektaa R Kapoor are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company and the same are managed by separate teams, including its content strategy’.

It also stated, ‘The company has complete faith in the judiciary and is fully cooperating with the authorities in the investigation. Since the matter is sub-judice, the company refrains from commenting in detail’.

As per a news report in the news agency ANI, the whole thing germinated from the fact that there had been some unsuitable scenes which involved a few minor girls in one of the episodes of the ‘Gandi Baat Season 6’, which was streaming on Alt Balaji. The said episode, however, is not available on the streaming app.

The Mumbai Police officials were quoted saying that a case had been registered against Balaji Telefilm Limited, Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor at MHB police station in Mumbai. The sections levied were 295-A of IPC, IT Act and sections 13 and 15 of POCSO Act. As per the complaint, the objectionable scenes of the minor girls were streamed on the Alt Balaji between February 2021 and April 2021. 

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