Court directs police to enquire influencer's molestation allegation against Prithvi Shaw

A court in Mumbai on Wednesday directed police to conduct an enquiry into social media influencer Sapna Gill's complaint of molestation against cricketer Prithvi Shaw in 2023.

Metropolitan Magistrate S C Tayde directed the police to submit a report of the enquiry by June 19.

The court, however, dismissed Gill's plea seeking action against the police for not registering a First Information Report against Shaw and others on her complaint.

Shaw had denied the allegations against him.

Gill had alleged that Shaw had molested her at a pub in suburban Andheri.

Gill was arrested in February 2023 with some others in connection with an attack on Shaw following an argument over clicking selfies at a suburban hotel. She is currently out on bail.

After being granted bail, Gill had approached the Airport police station in Andheri with a complaint against Shaw, his friend Ashish Yadav and others for alleged molestation and outraging modesty.

She later moved to magistrate court after police didn't register a case against the cricketer.

Gill, in her complaint lodged through advocate Ali Kaashif  Khan Desh, had sought registration of an FIR under IPC sections 354 (molestation), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) against  Shaw and his friend Ashish Yadav for assaulting her with bat.

However, police had told the court that Gill's allegation against Shaw that she was molested at a pub in suburban Andheri was “false and unfounded”.

Police said the CCTV footage of the pub showed that Gill and her friend Shobit Thakur were drunk and dancing.

Thakur had gone to record Shaw on his mobile phone, but the cricketer stopped him from taking videos. On the perusal of the footage, it does not appear that Shaw and others molested Gill in any way, according to police.

Police also said they recorded the statements of witnesses at the pub and they stated that no one had molested Gill.

They also examined CCTV footage of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, which is in the vicinity and it is seen that the social media influencer was following Shaw's car with a baseball bat in her hand. It was seen that she had broken the glass of the cricketer's car, police added.