Bengaluru Police Register FIR Against Sonu Nigam For Controversial Pahalgam Comment

India: An FIR has been filed against singer Sonu Nigam in Bengaluru for his controversial comment during a concert in the city on April 27, 2025. CNN-News18 has learnt that the FIR was filed at the Avalahalli Police Station following a complaint by the group, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. The FIR has been registered under section 352 (intentional insults intended to provoke a breach of peace).

This comes hours after Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) filed a formal complaint with the Bengaluru police and accused Sonu Nigam of “comparing Kannada and the Kannadigas’ language struggle to terrorism and what happened in Pahalgam.” The letter, accessed by media, also stated that Nigam was “trying to incite enmity between different linguistic groups.”

The controversy erupted when Sonu Nigam, during his performance, slammed a fan for allegedly rudely requesting a Kannada song. In his remarks, he compared the mindset of the fan to that of the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack.

Sonu Nigam called the demand “rudely threatening” and said, “Mujhe accha nahi laga ki waha ek ladka jiski umar, jitni uske umar nahi hogi use pehle toh main Kannada gaane garaha hoon. He was so rudely threatening me, ‘Kannada, Kannada’. Yahi kaaran hai, Pahalgam mein jo hua hai na? Yahi kaaran hai jo karrahe ho, jo kiya tha na abhi? Dekho toh kaun saamne khada hai. I love Kannadigas, I love you guys. Main puri duniya mein jaha bhi jata hoon, main humesha bolta hoon main, sabko bolta hoon main…14,000 ki audience hog usme ek awaaz aati hai, ‘Kannada’. Toh main unke liye, us ek Kannadiga k liye main kuch line Kannadiga k gaata hoon. Main itni izzat karta hoon aapki, itna pyaar karta hoon. So thoda sa rehna chahiye, aesa nahi karna chahiye aapko.”

This soon triggered strong reactions. The comments were widely condemned by the Kannada-speaking community.

KRV Bengaluru District President Dharmaraj Gowda, speaking to News18 earlier, had said, “His statements have hurt the sentiments of the Kannadiga community and could incite violence between various linguistic communities of Karnataka. The video of Sonu Nigam has gone viral, and crores of Kannadigas across the state are outraged.”