After failing to hand over a court summons to Punjab's Kings XI chairperson Preity Zinta and co-owner Ness Wadia over their Indian Premier League (IPL) advertisements depicting revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, representatives of a local NGO in Chandigarh on Thursday approached the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC).
In a complaint to PSHRC, Arvind Thakur, who heads Global Human Rights Council (GHRC), alleged Zinta and her bouncers, deployed at Punjab Cricket association (PCA) stadium in Mohali, mishandled the protesters and used abusive language.
"Zinta's spokesperson had called us today (Thursday) to the PCA Stadium but he said that she was busy somewhere and could not meet us. Court officials were also accompanying us and we waited for nearly two hours at the PCA but she did not come to receive the summons," Thakur told a news agency on Thursday.
He added: "We had also gone to the PCA yesterday (Wednesday) but bouncers of Zinta mishandled us and the court officials. They used abusive language and threatened us. Therefore, we have filed a complaint with PSHRC in this regard."
The Chandigarh court Monday issued summons against Zinta and Wadia for using pictures of freedom fighters in their advertisements. The court has summoned Zinta and Wadia on April 2. The summons were issued on a complaint filed by the GHRC.
GHRC had objected to the use of pictures of freedom fighters, including Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, in advertisements of Kings XI Punjab. They said the advertisements had "hurt the sentiments of the people".
Thakur said that now he would not go anywhere to deliver summons and he would apprise the court about the entire issue.
