Hyderabad: Founder of Hyderabad Youth Courage (HYC) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Salman Khan’s Instagram account has been suspended in India. It is not immediately clear what led to the suspension.
On March 16, his Instagram post read, “Government of India Yani BJP Nein Salman Khan HYC Ka account India Mein Block Kardiya. Koi baat Nahi. Hum Mazloomo Ke Liye Hamesha Rahenge, In sha Allah! (Government of India, as in the Bharatiya Janata Party, has blocked Salman Khan’s account in India, but no worries, we will continue to be there for the oppressed).”
Salman Khan has a history of controversy. Most recently, he was in the news for joining the BRS before the Jubilee Hills by-election after his own nomination was rejected.
Khan, who had harshly criticised BRS leaders in the past, apologised for his actions on the day he joined. “I sincerely apologise if I ever used inappropriate words against KCR garu or KTR garu. I always admit my mistakes with humility. Today, after joining the BRS, I extend my full respect to both leaders,” he had said.
Before this, he had faced allegations of misappropriating charitable donations, financial fraud and bribery.
Khan, along with the vice-president of HYC, Syed Ayyub, had been arrested by Chandrayangutta police in 2020 for allegedly collecting money through crowdfunding on the pretext of extending treatment to an elderly woman and then diverting the funds to their personal accounts.
Salman Khan had reportedly been operating a Facebook page requesting people to provide monetary help to the financially deprived. They had posted a video of a woman named Yasmeen Sultana, and claimed that she was suffering from a chronic ailment and provided a bank account of Yasmeen’s relative, Asra, for people to send their donations.
Massive donations had poured into Asra’s account, out of which Rs 15 lakh was transferred into Salman Khan’s account, another Rs 15 lakh to Syed Ayub’s relative, and the remaining Rs 16 lakh remained in Asra’s account, a Times of India report mentioned.
