In a recent incident at Inorbit mall in Mumbai’s Malad, Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari’s father and former cricketer Vinod Kambli’s wife Andrea Hewitt indulged in a brawl. A video has surfaced online, which shows Hewitt slapping Tiwari’s father when he  passed by her very closely, allegedly brushing his hand against her behind. Hewitt has accused him of intentionally touching her in an inappropriate way, while Tiwari maintains that it was just accidental. Read what transpired between Andrea Hewitt and Tiwari senior. 

The internet is divided on the issue. Some have sided with Tiwari saying that his touch was unintentional. While some believe it was an intentional attempt by him to molest her on the sly.

Lyricist Manoj Mustashir and singer Arko Parvo Mukherjee also sided with Tiwari on Twitter:

Ankit Tiwari has now filed an FIR against the couple. He also spoke out on Twitter in defense of his father.

In May 2014, Ankit Tiwari's ex-girlfriend accused him of rape and his brother of threatening. Though in April 2017, both the brothers were acquitted of all charges by the Mumbai Sessions Court. However, in the light of this incident, some people on Twitter are also taking an opportunity to make personal attacks on them by raking up the past incident.

We cannot determine from the video alone who is right or who is wrong. Unless the police investigates the matter nobody can be accused. But the social media has already started its trial and have passed judgements on the incident. We tried and took a closer look of the video and analysed all the possibilities that could have transpired.

The first possibility could be that it was unintentional. Tiwari is seen with a child entering the mall. His hand brushes against Hewitt and in reflex she slaps him. Tiwari looks shocked. A simple interpretation is that the touch could have been unintentional since it was a crowded place. And she, on reflex, slapped him, believing it was done on purpose. It is normal for a woman to react like that given they are constantly subjected to such cases regularly. But slapping the elderly man without giving him an opportunity to apologise is a bit extreme. Ideally, she should have  confronted him verbally and  lodged a complaint. That would have been a more mature and lawful way of dealing with the situation.

The second possibility could be that it was intentional and that Tiwari did indeed harassed her on purpose. He must have slyly brushed his hand against her, thinking she wouldn't notice it, considering it was a crowded place. This version is not hard to believe given the sexist society we live in. If that is the case, he must be punished by law. Also since he is the father of a celebrity, he should be made an example if he is proven guilty.

But in either situation, a social media trail is both unfair and wrong. People should share their opinions but giving judgements about either party being guilty isn't right. We must regard the law of the country above everything else and not jump to conclusions. Controversies involving celebrities are an enjoyable scoop of gossip for everyone, but such cases that involve matters like sexual harassment should be dealt with sensitivity and responsibility. Don't you agree?

In the past, there has been similar incidents involving celebs where social  media users have played the judge, jury and executioner. The Hrithik-Kangna debacle, the Mohammed Shami case and Sridevi's death are some recent examples. And don't forget that we are currently battling another social media problem, where fake news spread by Whatsapp is costing people their lives too. Social media is not a tool to be taken lightly. It has immense powers and we must be extremely responsible in dealing with the information we receive from the internet.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2018 06:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).