Case registered against MS Dhoni for "hurting religious sentiments"

A case has been registered against Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni in a local court in Bangalore for allegedly belittling a Hindu god and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The case has been registered by Choori Khan, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), under section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) along with 34 of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint filed by social activist Jayakumar Hiremath.

In his complaint, Hiremath alleged that by posing for an advertisement in a magazine as Lord Vishnu holding several things, including a shoe in his hands, Dhoni had maligned the Hindu god and hurt religious feelings of the Hindus.

Taking cognisance of the offence and registering the case, the court posted the date of May 12 for recording of the statement of the complainant.

The image in question had appeared on the cover of the April 14th issue of Business Today magazine, which is published by the India Today group. It is not clear whether Dhoni posed for the photograph or if he provided his consent for the image.