"I’ve categorically denied all the allegations levelled against me"
Indian rapping sensation Badshah is amongst the latest celebrities who have been questioned by Mumbai Police concerning fake social media followers.
On Thursday, 6 August 2020, he was summoned by the Mumbai Crime Branch for interrogation.
It has come to police attention that celebrities may have paid large sums of money to acquire fake social media followers.
Reportedly, police sources claimed that Badshah had confessed to paying a staggering Rs 75 lakh (£76,640.47) for the advertisement of his single ‘Pagal Hai’ (2019).
According to Zee News, they contacted the star on Saturday, 8 August 2020.
Shortly after, Badshah’s team released an official statement in which the rapper strongly denies the allegations against him.
Badshah stated that he was never involved in such wrongdoing and is cooperating with Mumbai Police to resolve this matter. His official statement reads:
“Following the summons, I have spoken to the Mumbai Police. I have aided the officials in their investigation by cooperating and carrying out the due diligence on my part.
“I’ve categorically denied all the allegations levelled against me and made it clear that I was never involved in such practices, nor do I condone them.
“The investigation procedure is being executed in accordance with the law and I have complete faith in the authorities, who are handling this matter.
“I’d like to thank all those who have conveyed their concern to me. It means a lot to me.”
Currently, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch is investigating the allegations. They are looking into whether the alleged amount paid by Badshah to the advertisement agency was for fake social media followers or other matters.
Not only that, but Badshah has been summoned by Mumbai Police on Monday, 10 August 2020.
Previously, the rapper had stated that his song ‘Pagal Hai’ (2019) garnered 7.5 million views in a day.
According to his claim, this made Badshah a world record holder for most views in a day. However, his claim was later discredited by Google.
The marketing company in question is Chtrbox which is a leading social media influencers marketing company.
In 2019, the company was accused of leaking the private date of approximately 49 million Instagram users.
Chtrbox has also listed the names of popular celebrities including Virat Kohli, Priyanka Chopra and Badshah as it’s clients.
This investigation may pull the company’s CEO, Pranay Swarup into question.
Mumbai Police Crime Branch has further claimed that the company’s celebrity profiles are fake.
In Swarup’s statement to the police, he claims he has a monthly earning of Rs 9 crore (£919,685.67) and has 30,000 clientele.
As a part of their investigation, Mumbai Police has taken a list of Badshah’s followers from the rapper himself.