Legal statement issued on behalf of Rhiti Tiwari’s mother Pratima Pandey denying Ekam Bawa’s ‘step-father’, husband claims

Mumbai: A legal statement on behalf of “Bigg Boss 20” contestant Rhiti Tiwari, daughter of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, and her mother, Pratima Pandey, has been issued denying claims made by a man identifying himself as her step-father, with a public notice describing the allegations as “false, baseless” and defamatory.

According to the public notice dated September 28, the individual identified as Ekam Bawa, also referred to as Parminder Kumar Bawa and Ekam Bains, has allegedly been publicly claiming that he is the “step-father” of Rhiti Tiwari and the legally wedded husband of Pratima Pandey.

The notice, issued under the instructions of Pratima Pandey and Rhiti Tiwari, categorically denies the claims and states that Ekam Bawa “holds no such legal status or relationship.”

It further alleges that his statements, videos and social media posts concerning Rhiti, her mother and their family are “false and defamatory” and were made with an alleged intention to harm their reputation.

The notice went on to state that “serious legal action, civil and criminal,” has been initiated against him.

It also calls upon media houses, publishers, platforms and channels to immediately remove any content carrying or repeating the alleged claims and to carry the public notice in its place.

The notice further asks media organisations to seek documentary proof and independently verify any facts concerning the family through the issuing office before publishing or broadcasting statements made by the individual.

The legal notice states that republication of the alleged false and defamatory content may make the publisher liable to appropriate legal action.

On September 28, Rhiti's team reacted to alleged ex-stepfather Ekam Bawa's torture claims.

Rhiti's team shared a statement on her official Instagram Stories. Calling the claims made by Ekam 'false', they urged the media to verify the facts before reporting anything. They further shared that they have initiated the necessary legal action against Bawa.

The statement read, "We are disappointed to see false claims made by #EkamBawa against Rhiti Tiwari and her family being carried across various media platforms. Rhiti is currently inside the #BiggBoss20 house and can't respond to these allegations herself (sic)."

"We request the media to please verify facts before amplifying such defamatory claims and give the family a fair chance to be heard. Necessary legal action has been initiated against #EkamBawa in relation to these allegations," the statement concluded.

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